


Doubleback

by Titch360



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-13 10:51:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12982482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titch360/pseuds/Titch360
Summary: "The only way to find what I left behind, I got to double back again."  --ZZ Top





	1. Chapter 1

Doubleback

Chapter 1

 

Gotham City has long been one of the nation’s most crime-prone areas.  Not a day went by without some sort of criminal activity somewhere in the city.  It has gotten to the point where crime is no longer newsworthy.  Only the big crimes, or, alternatively, drops in criminal activity, made the evening news reports.

What no one talked about, and what very few people actually realized, was the fact that Gotham crimes were cyclical in nature.  A drop in one type of crime was usually followed rather closely by a rise in another sort of crime.  In Gotham, there were three types of crimes, but only two of them fit the molds of the crime cycle.

The first, and most prevalent, type of crime is the average street crime.  This includes everything from street gangs all the way down to kids sticking candy bars in their pockets at convenience stores.  The second brand of crime was organized crime.  Criminal organizations had held sway in the city for going on sixty years.  White collar crime, Mob activities, protection rackets, trafficking, confidence schemes; Gotham City has seen all of it.  When one type of criminal activity would become more prevalent, the law enforcement, both behind badges and behind masks, would do their best to slap it down.  Another type of crime would rise, and enforcement would move in that direction.  It went back and forth, and would only be interrupted by the third type of crime, Super crime.  It was unknown what came first, the super hero or the super villain, but they seemed to feed off of each other.  When the super criminals struck, it seemed like the whole city hunkered down and waited for everything to blow over.  Once it did blow over, crime levels picked up again, and the cycle started all over.

Right now, Gotham should have been looking at a lull period.  Street crime had been on the rise lately, but Batman and the GCPD had gone on a tear.  To combat a rise in violent auto theft, law enforcement had gone on the offensive.  Batman’s detective work had found an elaborate chop shop organization run by the Bay Avenue Six.  The Bay Avenue Six had started as your standard street gang back in the 1980’s.  It really had started as six friends who wanted more than they could get legally.  By 1991, the Six had found themselves threatened by larger gangs, and opened enrollment to new members, so to speak.  They grew in size, but it took years until they grew beyond petty theft.  Once they did, they put all of their eggs in one basket, and became the city’s largest auto theft and chop shop operation.

Three days ago, the city’s resident vigilantes and a combination of SWAT teams raided the Bay Avenue headquarters of the gang, and took them down.  All seventy-five members of the Bay Avenue Six were now behind bars and awaiting trial on countless felony charges.

This should have been the start of a downswing in criminal activity in town, but Batman was ready to change the schedule.  Instead of a well-deserved break, Batman was pushing forward, hoping to head off the next rise.  The Bats were scouring the streets, still riding high on their last victory, looking to stop any and all gang activity they could find.  Since the bust of the Bay Avenue Six, a half dozen drug dealers and two kidnappers had been arrested by the Bats.  The GCPD had stopped a B&E ring that had been hitting local office buildings.

Even with these victories over the criminal element, the GCPD and the Bats were spread pretty thin around town.  So thin, in fact, that Batman and his partners had to split up to make patrols more effective.  It was working.  The Bats were covering more area, and the local gangs were noticing the increased pressure.

Last night, one of Batman’s informants had notified him that The Troggs, the city’s largest street gang, were arming themselves for an increased battle against the authorities, for their survival in the city.  The informant didn’t know who was selling the weapons, or when the deal was happening, just that it would happen soon, and the weapons were big enough to make The Troggs a little cocky.

Batman’s marching orders had been simple: find The Troggs and monitor their activity.  If the deal hadn’t gone down yet, observe and report.  If the deal had gone down, get to safety and call for back-up.  So far, the search had been uneventful, and a mid-patrol break found two groups of Bats in conference.

“Find anything yet, Red Robin,” Batman asked as he, Robin, and Red Robin perched on the top of the One-West Bank building in Midtown.

Red Robin shook his head, “No, but then again, The Troggs never venture this far into the city.  I was going to head towards the Harbor next.  You find anything?”

“Nothing useful,” Robin grumbled.  “Two of Falcone’s men collecting protection bribes, but nothing leading us to an arms shipment.”

“They’ve got to be out here somewhere,” Batman said, noting Robin’s tone of voice.  He knew his son thrived on action, and the last couple nights of patrols had been mostly devoid of that for the Boy Wonder.

Red Robin had caught the tone as well, “I think we’ve pretty much swept Midtown, Batman.  Where are you two going next?”

“North,” Batman said, “There’s been a rumor of increased gang activity in the Financial District.  Maybe it’s The Troggs.”

“Where are Nightwing and Red Hood tonight,” Red Robin inquired.

Robin snorted, “Where does Red Hood always go for cases like this.”

Red Robin rolled his eyes, “Right, Crime Alley.  How about Nightwing?”

“I thought he said he was headed for the Delano Bridge tonight,” Batman said.

That surprised Red Robin, “Bludhaven?  Does he think the guns might be coming from inland?  The Troggs have never worked West Gotham before.”

Batman shrugged, “We have to cover all the bases, Red Robin.”

“Okay.  Well…”

Red Robin’s next statement was cut off by a monumental sigh from Robin.  “Robin,” Batman said.

Robin pointed to the northwest, “Signal.”

Batman looked up to see his calling card shining in the sky above Police Plaza.  “Alright.  Get back to it, Red Robin.”

Batman and Robin rose to check out the emergency.  Robin wasn’t saying anything, but Batman could feel Robin’s sour mood.  “Wait.”  Third and fourth sons stopped at Batman’s command.  Batman looked down at his teenager and said, “Go with him, Robin.  You two can work off some energy.  Be careful.”

“Yes, Father,” Robin said obediently.  He turned to join his brother, but not fast enough to hide his satisfied smile.

Headed east on the roof of the Eleventh Street EL-train, Red Robin sat back and watched his younger brother, as he stared eagerly forward, hair flapping like a dog with his head out of the window.  The young vigilantes laid back as the train passed under a low gantry, barely missing being swept off the top of their conveyance.

Red Robin leaned over and lightly grabbed a handful of Robin’s hair.  Shouting over the wind, Red Robin asked, “I thought you said you were going to cut this?”

“I said I was thinking about it,” Robin shouted back, “Agent A is going to give me a trim tomorrow, then I’ll decide how short to go.”

“Does you-know-who still like it this long?”

Robin smiled, “Not as much as she used to.  She knows I keep it this length for her, but it doesn’t do us much good when we’re four thousand miles apart.  She is interested to see what I’ll look like with short hair.”

Red Robin sat up again, “How short are we talking?”

Robin shrugged, “Probably as short as Father’s.”  Robin’s eyes widened under his mask, “Do NOT tell Hood!  He’ll insist on shaving my head again.”

Red Robin laughed at the true statement, “Yeah, probably.  Head’s up, our exit is coming up.”

Red Robin and Robin stood on the roof of the swiftly moving train.  Robin followed suit as Red Robin shot a grapple line at a light pole and was lifted from their impromptu transportation.  The duo landed, and Robin was chuckling lightly.

“What,” Red Robin asked, enjoying the pleased look on Robin’s face.

“That was fun.  Was that something Nightwing taught you?”

Red Robin smirked, “Sure was.  Come on, let’s go find something more interesting than a stake out.”

Red Robin and Robin stalked the Gotham Harbor, heading for a known Trogg area.  Both had past run-ins with the gang, and they were fairly sure they knew where to find the criminals.

“Are you sure you want to find these guys, Red,” Robin asked, “They shot you the last time we ran across them.”

Red rolled his eyes, “You’re the one who should be worried.  I’m sure The Troggs remember how you took out twenty of their guys to get to me.”

Robin smirked, “Twenty-three, and they would be idiots to mess with me again.”

Red had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.  Instead, he began talking like a news reporter, “And, in other news, the arrogance level skyrocketed at the Gotham Harbor this evening.  Officials are still looking for the source.”

Robin turned his head to make a remark, but stopped himself as he looked over Red’s shoulder.  Red was concerned at the sneer on Robin’s face.  “Robin?  What is it?  It was just a joke.”

Robin pointed past his brother and said, “Pimp.”

Red turned and saw the man Robin was pointing out.  He quickly reached out and grabbed Robin’s arm before the teen could make a move.  “It’s okay.  He’s out of the game.  That’s Freely, one of Batman’s informants.  Let it go; he’s not pimping anymore.”

“He’s lucky you’re around,” Robin growled, before turning and stalking away.

They all had categories of crime that set them off.  For Batman, it was gun violence.  Nightwing hated kidnappings.  For Red Hood, drug dealers were his bane (little B, not big B).  Red Robin was triggered by domestic violence.  Robin saw red over prostitution and sex crimes.  Red Robin had no doubt that Robin would have beaten the man just for the possible hint that he could have been involved in prostitution.

Red Robin caught up with Robin on the roof of a familiar warehouse.  “This is where they were the last time we ran across them,” Red Robin said.

Robin nodded, holding up a hand for silence, “Yeah.  I hear voices inside.  Let’s take a look.”

_Inside…_

“This wasn’t our deal!  Stop trying to screw us, or you’ll regret it.”

The Robins made their way down to the ground floor of the warehouse, staying in cover as best they could.  They didn’t look out at the main section of the warehouse until they were in cover, and it was a good thing, too.  The person they would have seen was the exact last person they might hope to see.

“This is the deal, take it or leave it.  If you leave it, you will have made an enemy of the League of Assassins, and that is not good for your continued longevity.”

Robin was cowering behind their cover, eyes clenched tightly shut, breathing heavily, as Talia’s voice rang out in the space.

Red Robin gripped his brother’s shoulder tightly.  He hissed out, “What is she doing here?”

“How the hell should I know?”  Robin was shaking under Red Robin’s grip, “This isn’t right.  Can’t she just leave us alone?”

Red Robin keyed his communicator, “Batman.  Batman, respond!”

It took a minute for the elder vigilante to respond, “What is it, Red Robin?”

Red was fumbling over his words, not knowing where to start, “We found The Troggs.  The deal is going down right now, and you are never going to believe who the other party is.  It’s the League of Assassins.”

“Can you speak up, Red Robin?  I can barely hear you,” Batman said.  “Where are you?”

Red Robin was doing his best not to shout, “Warehouse Row, at the Harbor.  Building six thirty-two.  I can’t speak any louder, we’re in the warehouse.  I’m activating my tracker now.”

Robin broke into the call and spoke softly, “Father, please hurry.  Talia is making the deal herself.”

“WHAT?” Batman exclaimed loudly.  Robin and Red Robin flinched at Batman’s shout.  “What is she doing there?  Never mind, I’m on my way.  Stay put.  Robin, do not engage.”

The call was cut off, and the Birds turned to watch the deal take place.  Red Robin whispered, “When did the League of Assassins get into gun running?”

Robin replied, “They will use it as a way to gain influence into new areas of business.  Mother… _Talia_ must be trying for another power play in Gotham, to be here herself.”

Red Robin caught the use of the name, but didn’t say anything about it.  He knew too well the complicated relationship Damian had with his mother.

“Make your decision; I don’t have all day.”  Talia crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the local gangbanger.

Robin shivered, “I remember that tone of voice.  She’s hoping he says no.  She can’t wait to give the order to kill this fool.”

Red Robin looked over, “As wrong as that would be, it would make our job a bit easier.”

Robin sighed, not seeming to hear Red Robin, “I used to be the one she would give those orders to.  I used to have to carry out her whims.  She used to tell me that it was their fault when I had to kill people like him, and I believed her.”

Red stared at Robin critically, “Robin, do we need to pull back?  Let’s get you out of here, and wait for Batman outside.”

Robin shook his head, his eyes not leaving Talia.  If Red Robin could see Robin’s eyes at this moment, he would have described them as burning.  “No.  She doesn’t leave here a free woman.  Father should be here soon.  Hopefully, he’s bringing a SWAT team.”

In the center of the warehouse, four of the gang members dropped, including the lead negotiator, blood splattering the ground from fatal bullet wounds.  Talia’s head was swiveling around the warehouse, as were Red Robin’s and Robin’s.

“Who did this,” Talia shouted out, “I didn’t order this.”

“No, Al Ghul,” A new voice boomed out, “I did.”

Suddenly, the lights in the warehouse went out, and the noise level increased dramatically as more gun shots and the sounds of several fights rang out.

Red Robin leaned next to Robin’s ear and asked, “What’s going on?”

Robin sounded scared as he said, “More than we want.”

“Who are the new guys?”

Robin looked seriously at Red and said, “The League of Shadows.  They’re the sworn enemies of the League of Assassins.  There has been open warfare between the two groups for over three hundred years.”

Red’s jaw dropped slightly, “What are they doing in Gotham?”

“Why are you asking _me_ this?  It’s not like I get a monthly newsletter from The Assassins.”

“As much as you hate to admit it, you were a part of them.  You have more knowledge of their activities than I do.  So, in your best estimation, using what you know of the inner workings of The League of Assassins, and their connection to the League of Shadows, what are they doing here?”

Robin sighed, “Escalating the conflict.  They must have tracked Talia here and saw an opportunity to make a move.”  Robin shuddered, “There is nothing an Assassin fears more than a Shadow.”

The lights came back up, and the scene was quite different than it had been a couple minutes ago.  The entire compliment of Troggs in the building lay either dead or dying around the warehouse.  Several skirmishes ringed the room between Shadows and Assassins.  Of greater importance to the observing Bats, Talia was down, and a tall man was walking slowly up to her.

“Stay down, daughter of Al Ghul.  Stay on your knees, where you and all of your Assassins belong.”

Talia stared at the man spitefully, “You will never win, and when my Father hears of your effrontery, your impudence, he will wipe the Shadows from the face of the Earth.”

The man slowly drew a pistol from a cross-draw holster at his hip, “By the time that old fool finds out what happened to you, there won’t be enough of you left for a Lazarus Pit to rejuvenate.”

_Oh, no,_ Red Robin thought, _I can’t let Damian see this.  No matter how bad their relationship is, I can’t let Damian see this guy execute his mother._

Red Robin turned to grab Robin, to force him out of the building, only to find that the teen was gone.  Turning all around, Red Robin nearly panicked at the disappearance of his brother, only to actually panic when he found him.

Robin had vaulted over their cover at the first sight of the gun.  Not considering what his actions meant, Robin sprinted across the open space between himself and the confrontation in the center of the warehouse.  Approaching at full speed, but absolutely silently, meant the assailant didn’t know what hit him, and wouldn’t know until he woke up, several hours later.  Robin leapt and performed a flying kick to the man’s jaw.  Putting all of his one hundred twenty-five pounds into the strike, Robin felt the man’s jaw dislocate, then fracture, then nearly tear away from the man’s skull, before the rest of his body followed his jaw.  The man hit the concrete floor of the warehouse hard, his head bouncing off of the floor twice before coming to a rest, ensuring his future concussion would cause him almost as much pain and suffering as his jaw.

Robin stood protectively in front of Talia, daring any of the remaining Shadows to try to attack with his posture.  They withdrew smartly, leaving the warehouse as silently as they had entered.

“That was a mistake,” sounded from an all-too-familiar voice from behind Robin.

Something cold and sharp was pressed against the back of Robin’s neck.  He didn’t have time to react before pain shot through his entire body.  The room went dark around him, and Robin knew no more.

 

**A/N: Here is the beginning of a new work.  I think you all should be able to tell where this one is going.  This is going to be shorter than most of my other chaptered works.  This is currently scheduled for five chapters, with a possibility for a sixth.  As I’ve been writing this one out, I’ve noticed that all of the chapters are pretty short, with the exception of the fifth chapter.  I might end up splitting that one up into two, but I haven’t decided yet.  The first four chapters are written, I just need to type them up and edit them.  I’m about half done with chapter five as of now.  I want to get this one done fairly quickly, but my schedule never allows for quick.**

**If anyone has looked at my Timeline recently, you will notice that there are several stories listed that are still in the works.  I like posting in timeline order, which means that I am sitting on a couple that are set after this one.  I’ll get around to posting those once this one is done.**

**I’m still taking suggestions for the villain of Hero Hunt.  As of this writing, I have not had any come in.  My list of potential villains is painfully short.  I really don’t want to start reusing villains if I don’t have to.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	2. 2

Doubleback

Chapter 2

 

Damian didn’t want to wake up.  If the last several seconds of consciousness were anything to judge his condition by, then he would gladly go back to sleep.  However, Damian’s body didn’t always listen to rational arguments.  He was a teenager, and his body rebelled against authority just as much as his mind did, even if he was the authority.

If waking up was a bad idea, opening his eyes was a worse one.  His field of vision jumped enough to turn his stomach.  On top of that, his head was pounding in time with his heart, his entire body was sore, and he could swear that the room was moving.

A full-body shiver ran through the teen as the cold temperature of the room hit him.  Closing one eye to stabilize his vision, Damian slowly lifted his head to look at his situation.  The room was maybe a third of the size of his bedroom at Stately Wayne Manor, painted a clinical white, and lit to painfully bright levels with a bank of overhead fluorescent lights.  Damian looked down to see that he had been stripped down to his underwear, which explained why he was shivering.  He was chained to a metal table, propped up at a forty-five degree angle.  His arms were stretched out to his side, and his chains passed through holes in the table.  His feet were chained at the ankle in the same way.

Damian put his head down again and closed his eyes.  _Where am I?  What happened?  Why are my thoughts so scrambled?  What’s the last thing I remember?  Let’s see…I was patrolling with Father, and he sent me off to go with Tim…TIM!  Where is he?_

Damian opened his eyes again, wincing against the bright light, and turned his head to try to see more of the room.  As far as he could tell, he was alone.

“Tim?”  Damian’s throat was dry, and his voice squeaked as he tried to find his brother.  “Tim?  Where are you?”

No answer met his call, and Damian sighed.  _Maybe he was smart enough to not get captured.  Who captured me, though?  Where am I?  Why does it feel like this room is moving?_

Damian laid his head back again.  _Okay, so Tim and I were patrolling, looking for gangs.  We found The Troggs…and Mother.  Why is she ‘Mother’ again?  Either way, I disobeyed Father and saved her life.  How do I explain that one?  I have too much of a headache to try to figure that one out right now.  Then what happened?  Talia did something, and now I’m here.  How long was I out?  Where am I?  Why didn’t she just kill me?  What does she have in store for me, if I’m still alive at this point?_

_Later…_

Damian started awake as the door to his room was pushed open.  He had fallen asleep again, and it apparently helped.  He was still sore, but his headache had subsided greatly.

He took a deep breath, “Talia…”

“Shut up,” she interrupted, “Just shut up.  You aren’t allowed to talk until I say you can.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “You obviously have a plan for me; otherwise I would already be dead.  Since you are keeping me alive for a reason, I feel no need to follow your rules.”

“You will obey your mother,” Talia said, backhanding Damian sharply across his face.

Despite the stinging in his cheek, Damian laughed, “Mother?  When have you ever been that to me?  How many times have you told me that I am no longer your son?  Mother?  That’s laughable.  Hell, Robin’s mom is more of a mother to me than you’ve ever been.”

Talia looked confused for a second, “Robin?  Oh, you mean you are still dating that tramp?”

Damian’s eyes grew cold, and his defiant smirk flattened into a sneer, “You watch your mouth.  Robin is ten times the woman you will ever be.”

Talia smiled craftily, “How long are you going to string her along and lie to her?”  Talia knew that Damian had just given her a weakness in his armor that she could exploit.

Damian was glaring daggers at the woman, “She already knows.  I told her the truth about me on our first anniversary.  She knows everything I was forced to do, and everything you did to me.  She accepts me for who I am, unlike you.”

Talia shrugged, “After you’re dead, I’ll find her.  You know I will; you can’t hide her from me anymore.  After I make her watch as I slaughter her family, as I slit her throat, I’ll make sure she knows who I am, and that she is dying because you failed to protect her.”

Enraged, Damian tried to lift his arm, to reach Talia.  Talia smiled and said, “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.  Those chains are electrified.”

_It won’t be the first time I’ve been electrocuted,_ Damian thought as he reached for his former mother.  He was surprised to find that he could lift his arm off the table about two feet.  He didn’t feel anything through the restraints, but after a couple seconds, he heard pained screams coming through the wall.

_What the hell is that?  Wait, this is Talia I’m dealing with._   Damian put his arm back down on the table and asked cautiously, “What was that?”

Talia’s smile grew, “That was the idiot who tried to rescue you from me.”

Damian’s eyes grew in shock, “Tim!  What are you doing to him?”

Talia took a step closer, “I’m not doing anything to him; you are.  Every time you move your chains, it doesn’t shock you, it shocks him.  The wires are attached to both your arm and leg chains.  The shock is proportional to how much you move.  Move just an inch,” Talia lifted Damian’s arm an inch off of the table, “The circuit completes, and he gets a small shock.  It’s barely a tickle at this point.  He might not even notice it.  However, the farther you pull,” Talia yanked the chain out as far as it would go, and Damian cringed as Tim started screaming again, “The more electricity he gets.”

Damian slammed his arm back to the table as soon as Talia let it go.  He wanted to cry at the development, but held back.  “Let him go.  You don’t need him.  I’m the one you want.”

“Why would I do that, when he is such a good bargaining chip to use against you?”

“You don’t need to do this,” Damian complained, “Don’t hurt him.”

Talia smiled again, “I told you, I’m not hurting him.  You are.”

Damian took a shuddering breath, “Holding two of us will only make Father hunt you twice as hard.  He’ll come for us.”

“He’ll be too late,” Talia said silkily, “In three days, we’ll be back with the League, where you’ll be presented to your Grandfather.  He will be the one to end your life.  I’ve been given permission to do whatever I want to you until then.  My only order is that you be alive and conscious for your execution.”

_So, Grandfather knows I’m coming.  I wonder if she told him why she is still alive.  That doesn’t matter right now.  Right now, I have something more important to take care of._

Damian sighed, “Let Tim go.  You don’t need him to accomplish your mission.  Father loves him more than he loves me.  If you harm Tim, Father will make you pay.”

Talia gave a crafty look, “If I let him go, the only place for him to go is to be dropped into the ocean.  So, you admit you made the wrong choice?  Your father doesn’t love you, after all.  How does it feel, knowing you are unloved?”

“Why don’t you tell me,” Damian shot back, “You have far more experience with it than I do.  I didn’t say I was unloved, I said Father loves Tim more.  He has to, he’s known him longer.  Father loves all of my brothers, and he won’t rest until all of us are with him again.  If you loved Father, like you claim you do, or ever did love him, then you will give Tim back.”

Talia eyed Damian, “You aren’t going to beg for your own life?”

Damian shrugged, doing his best not to move his arms, “I’ve been living on borrowed time since I chose Father over you.  We both know that.  You’ll just plot another way to kill me in the future.  What’s the point in trying to stop you from doing this?”

Talia pulled a stun gun out of her pocket and walked up to Damian slowly, “What point, indeed?”

Talia jabbed the stun gun just below Damian’s ribs and gave him a two-second jolt.  Damian nearly jumped off the table at the shock, but he did his best not to move his arms or legs.

“This is how I captured you, you know.  A shock to the back of the neck.  You went down like a stone.”

_Stun gun to the brain stem.  No wonder my thoughts were so jumbled when I woke up.  I wonder if that’s how she got Tim, too._   Panting, Damian repeated, “Take your anger out on me, but let Tim go.”

Talia sneered, “Oh, I’ll take my anger out on you, but I need him to know when you’ve had enough.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed at his Mother, “What does that mean?”

“I’m going to beat you,” Talia said matter-of-factly, “When I can hear his screams of pain coming through the wall, only then will I stop.  The both of you will be given some time to rest, then we’ll start all over again.”

Damian reached out and held on to the holes of the table, preparing himself for what was to come.  “I won’t hurt him,” Damian said stubbornly.

Talia’s smile grew a sinister shade, “We’ll see.  Just know that, when you move, the pain he will be in will be your fault.”

“Don’t hurt my brother,” Damian said sternly.

Talia tried to look innocent, “I won’t lay a hand on him; you have my word.  You are the one who will hurt him.  By the way, if you just pull on the chains to get him to scream without me punishing you, or if I think you’re faking it to get out a little easier, I’ll beat you harder and longer, and increase his voltage.”

_There goes that idea,_ Damian thought. _No!  It was never a consideration!  Just remember Damian, she can beat me, but she can never defeat met.  I’m stronger than her.  I’m better than her.  She can beat me until we reach Grandfather, I won’t give her the satisfaction of hurting Tim.  I.  Won’t.  Hurt.  Tim._

Damian took a deep breath, trying to steel himself for what he knew was coming, “Do your worst.”

Talia gave a predatory smile, “I plan to,” she said softly.

Talia looked Damian up and down, “You’ve grown, Damian.  I don’t remember you having so many scars when you were with me.”

Damian snarled, “That’s because all the scars I got from you are on my back.  You didn’t have the nerve to look me in the face when you beat me.”

Damian struck a nerve with that response, and Talia let him know it by jabbing the stun gun into his thigh and giving him a shock.  Damian’s leg jumped involuntarily, and he forced it back into place as quickly as he could.

“That belt your father provided you with contained many interesting items.”  Talia reached into her pocket and pulled out a device, “This tracker, for instance.  Tell me, how far is the effective range?”

Damian smiled, “No range.  That tracker can be found anywhere on the planet, and to an orbital distance of fifty miles.  Father can tell if I am anywhere on Earth, and on any of the Justice League’s orbiting satellites.  How safe are you feeling now?”

Talia dropped the tracker on the floor and crushed it under the heel of her boot.  “Pretty safe,” she said, pulling a second device from her pocket and crushing that one, as well.  “That one was from his belt.  Still think your father is coming for you?”

“My Father will always come for me,” Damian said confidently.

“I thought you said he didn’t love you?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “I said, he loves Tim more.  I know exactly how much my Father loves me.  Knowing that he loves Tim more just means that he will be coming that much faster.”

_She only destroyed the obvious trackers.  I bet she didn’t find the ones sewn into the uniforms.  Father will come, I have no doubt about that._

Talia was speaking again, “There were a couple other items I found, as well.”  Talia pulled a set of brass knuckles out of a pocket, “I can’t think your father approves of these.”

Damian eyed them, knowing their power, “He doesn’t.  I got those from you, if you remember.  Now, how can you say I’ve turned my back on everything you’ve taught me, if I still carry those around?”

Talia slipped the weapon onto her hand, “I do remember, as a matter of fact.”  Talia approached and punched Damian just above the navel.  All of the breath left Damian in one gust, but he held on to the table, not moving his legs.  Talia punched him twice more, leaving Damian gasping for air.  “Crude, but effective.”

Damian couldn’t respond, and Talia cracked a smile, “Where are your snappy comebacks now?  I thought your plan was to frustrate me with sass?”

“We aim to please,” Damian coughed.

Talia punched him again, in the side.  Damian squeaked, then cringed.  He knew he had moved his arm far enough to shock Tim.  No noises came through the wall, and Damian wondered how thick the wall was, and if Tim was in the next room, or down the hall.  As far as he knew, Tim could already be screaming, and they just couldn’t hear it.

Talia regarded Damian critically before grabbing a handful of Damian’s hair and slamming his head into the table.  Damian’s vision flashed white, and he reached both arms up to grab his head.  Ten seconds later, screams filtered through the wall, and the haze in Damian’s head, and he forced his arms to go straight again.

Talia gave a warm smile, “That’s the reaction I’m looking for.”

Again, Talia reached behind her back, this time pulling out a collapsible staff she took from Damian’s utility belt, and held it up for her ex-son to see.  Damian had a hard time keeping his lower lip from trembling as she slowly extended the weapon that had become his favorite in his allowed arsenal.

“Now, let’s begin.”

_Later.  Much, much later…_

The hardened carbon fiber staff clattered to the floor as Talia dropped it near the door on her way out of the room.  Damian was curled up in as tight a ball as his restraints would allow, and he was hating himself for it.  Tim’s pained screams still sounded through the wall, and other than his own labored breaths, they were the only sound he could hear.  Damian knew, no matter how soon his brother’s anguished cries stopped, they would ring in his ears for hours to come, and in his nightmares for months on end.

Slowly, Damian forced his legs to extend, and his arms to relax back to the table.  Every self-preservation instinct he had learned over the past four years was telling him to allow his body to protect itself, while every familial instinct he had acquired over the same period was berating him for being weak enough to pass his pain on to his older brother.

It took a full three minutes before his limbs would remain stretched out.  Damian gripped the rough edges of the chain holes in the table until the metal cut into his fingers, hoping that a different pain would distract from the burning, shooting pains in his stomach and legs, where Talia had focused her assault.

_I’m sorry, Tim.  I’m so sorry.  I held out as long as I could.  That’s the problem with having a torturer who raised you; they know all of your weak spots.  I’m sorry I’m so weak.  I’m too weak to stand this for too much longer.  Talia will be back soon.  If I know anything about her, I know that.  She won’t give either of us time to recover.  She is probably just going to get something to eat, then will be back to hurt me again.  It will be worse next time; she’ll be upset that I held out for as long as I did.  That was, what, four hours?  I lost track of time, but I know she wasn’t expecting to have to hit me for that long.  She’ll be back soon, too soon for Tim to have much of a chance to rest.  I have to hold out longer next time.  I’m so sorry, Tim._

A strange thought occurred to Damian.  _I bet she only stopped hitting me because her arm was getting sore.  She might wait until her arm isn’t sore to come back.  Or, she will think of some other form of torture, something that doesn’t require strength or exertion on her behalf.  I can’t assume she will wait for anything.  I really screwed up this time.  Father, please find us in time to save Tim.  He doesn’t deserve what I’m doing to him._

His pain starting to subside, guilt flooded in to take its place, and Damian did his best not to cry as he fell into a fitful, restless slumber.

 

**A/N:  I’m going to try to get two more chapters up this weekend, but don’t hold me to that.  This story will come in at six chapters.**

**Still looking for suggestions for Hero Hunt.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	3. 3

Doubleback

Chapter 3

 

Tim had awakened several hours earlier to electricity being passed through his body.  He held out as long as he could, but he couldn’t stop himself from screaming against the pain.  Only then had the jolt stopped, leaving Tim under the assumption that he was being watched.

Tim was assuming that this was his reward for trying to protect his little brother.  The last thing Tim remembered, before waking up in his room, was the warehouse fight.  As soon as Damian took out Talia’s attacker, Talia started to rise from her kneeling position.  Tim had started moving before he saw Talia pull out the stun gun, but had only taken two steps before Damian hit the ground.  Tim figured he must have been attacked from behind as well, because the next thing he knew, he was in this painfully bright, very chilly room.  The metal table felt like ice against his bare back, and his chains were cutting off the circulation to his feet.

Tim spent the next several hours being subjected to various intensities of electric shocks.  They seemed to happen at random intervals, and Tim didn’t know how long he would have between assaults.

Being an unwitting target instilled a type of neuroses in Tim.  He found himself flinching at the slightest noise, never knowing if it would be the precursor to another attack.  His torture seemed to be cyclical; intense periods of jolts followed by periods of relative quiet.  If someone would just talk to him, it might help him understand what was going on.  He could take torture, if he knew the reason why.

_Later…_

It had been four hours since his last electrocution had left him screaming in pain, and eight hours since his torture started.  The period of relative calm had allowed Tim to catch a few minutes of sleep, but it wasn’t easy.  Tim usually required perfect dark and a much higher temperature before he could get comfortable enough to sleep.  Sheer exhaustion was the only thing that had allowed him to nod off.

He almost had fallen asleep again when he noticed that his cell door had opened.  He had no idea how long ago that had happened, or who had opened it.  Trying to pull himself back together, Tim looked around again, until he noticed a woman leaning against the wall.

They stared at each other for just short of a minute before Tim said, “I guess you’re Talia.  I don’t think we’ve met before.”

Talia actually looked surprised at that, “You know, I don’t think we have.  I assume you’ve heard all about me.  I know all about you as well, Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne.”

Tim sighed, “Am I supposed to be impressed that you know my full name, Talia?”

Talia had expected some reaction, but just shrugged, “It blew Jason’s mind, the first time I did that to him.”

Tim smirked, just stopping himself from chuckling, “Well, Jason is an idiot.  What do you want with me, Talia?”

Talia took a step closer to the table, “Just as impatient as my son.  We’ll get to that, but first, what do you think of your room?”

Tim looked around at his accommodations again, “I can’t say I’m too fond of the bed.  You should really consider either adjusting the air conditioning or giving me something more than my underwear to wear.  Is there a reason I’m lying here in my boxers, or are you just hard up enough to want a guy to look at?”

“I know how Bruce trains you all too well.  I’m sure you have many things in your costume that can be used to pick your restraints.  Let’s just say that I don’t want you wandering off before it’s time.”

Tim gave a smirk, “Are you sure it isn’t wanting to stare at a good-looking guy’s body?”

Talia snarled, “Does Bruce train all of you in how to be annoying?”

Tim cocked his head and smiled, “Huh.  I always thought Damian got that from you.  I didn’t know that was a genetically ‘Wayne’ trait.  No wonder being annoying is second nature to him.”

Talia held the comment she wanted to throw out for later.  Instead, she said, “When we captured you, you appeared to be running for one of us.  Why did you make your presence known?  I admit, I didn’t know you were there until Damian showed up in front of me.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed a bit as he could tell that they were getting down to business, “Just so you know, I was running for you.  I figured you would attack Damian, I just didn’t think you would move as fast as you did.”

“Why weren’t you closer?”

“It was an open warehouse.  We were in the closest cover we could get.”  Talia stared at Tim, who sighed and continued, “Damian moved on instinct.  I waited to observe the situation.  I obviously waited too long.”

“Why did Damian move,” Talia asked.

Tim bristled at the question, and it showed in his tone, “Because no matter what you’ve done to him in the past, I suspect there will always be a part of his heart that loves you.  I’m sure that part is a lot smaller now, but he wasn’t going to stand by and watch you be executed.  I was going to pull him out of the building, but he had already run off to save you.”

Tim couldn’t quite tell what Talia was thinking as she said, “Is that so?  Why were you two in the warehouse at all last night?”

_Is this the real interrogation now, or is this all still pretext?_   “Bruce has us cracking down on gang activity in the city.  We’re making a dent, and we wanted to push our advantage, while we still had it.  We heard solid intel of an arms deal going down between The Troggs and an unknown seller.  We didn’t know that the deal was going down right then, or that you were the seller.  We were just in the right place at the wrong time.”

“Why were just the two of you there?  Where was my Beloved while this was happening?”

Tim rolled his eyes and spoke in an exasperated tone, “Does it really matter?  He wasn’t there.  We were.  Things would have been different if he was there, or if Damian wasn’t.  This is just how things worked out.”

Talia’s eyes narrowed, “Answer my question.”

Tim huffed, “Bruce was in the financial sector.  We didn’t know where the deal was taking place, so we were combing the known gang areas of the city, looking for the right spot.  Damian was with me because Bruce wanted him to work out some frustrations.  It probably won’t surprise you to know that Damian doesn’t like sitting through stakeouts.”

Talia looked at Tim strangely, “What about the other one?  The one Damian seems to like more than you?”

Tim almost laughed at the question, “Who, Dick?  He was on the other side of town.  Bruce only sent Damian with me because we ran into each other while searching the city.  Believe me, Bruce only sent Damian with me to let him get some exercise.  Unlike you, Bruce doesn’t send Damian out on his own and just hope for the best.  He takes an active hand in Damian’s training.”

Talia nodded, and Tim knew he had said too much.  However, Talia seemed to rise above the jab and moved on.  “And, after all that, Damian came to my assistance?”

“Against orders.  We reported our position, and what was happening, to Bruce before the attack.  Bruce told us to hold our position and observe, because he was on his way.  He won’t be too far behind us, you know.”

“Yes, Damian said the same thing,” Talia said drily.  She then shrugged, “Well, my Beloved will forgive him for moving to save a life.  I wonder if he will be even happier that it was my life.  Bruce believes that anyone can be redeemed.”

Tim gave an evil smile, “That’s why Damian has thrived with us.  He’s been allowed to grow beyond what you wanted for him.”

Talia walked closer to the table, until she was next to the metal surface, “If you are so against me, why don’t you just reach out and try to choke me to death?  There is some slack in your chains; more than enough to wrap around my throat.  All you have to do is reach out, and you can end this.  Show me how much I am reviled in Bruce’s house.”

Alarm bells were going off in Tim’s head as he seriously considered it.  _I can end this quickly, but this seems too easy.  I can’t, though; Damian would never forgive me, and I don’t want to hurt him like that.  She wants me to try, but why?  Why does this all feel like a trap inside a trap inside a trap?  I think I spend too much time around Damian.  My thought processes are getting too warped._

“Something tells me that would be a bad idea,” Tim said skeptically.

Talia took a step back with a smile on her face, “I guess you really are the smart one, like I’ve heard.  You are quite right, moving would be a bad idea.  Let me explain what’s going on.  We are on our way back to the League of Assassins right now.  We should arrive in two days.”

Tim cocked his head as he interrupted, “We’re on a boat?”

Talia didn’t like being interrupted.  She growled, “Yes, my personal yacht.”

Tim looked surprised, “Hmm, couldn’t tell.  Must be smooth sailing.”

“It has been, so far,” Talia was growing frustrated with Tim, in a way that he recognized so well from past encounters with Damian.  “You will want to pay attention for this part, so shut up.  Damian is close by, chained up in an identical rig as the one you are strapped into, and you are essential to his torture.”

Tim’s eyes widened, “Damian’s here?  Is he okay?”

Talia gave an evil smile, “He is as uncomfortable as I can make him.  He has begged several times for your release, but that won’t happen.  It would decrease his torture.”

Tim really didn’t like where this was going, “Where is he?  And what do you mean, decrease his torture?”

Talia decided to ignore Tim’s questions, for now, “I’m sure you’ve noticed that your chains are electrified.  Well, so are Damian’s.  It’s actually a rather ingenious form of torture, if I do say so myself.  You see, if you pull on your chains, it completes a circuit and sends a shock.  The more you pull, the bigger the shock.”

Tim was confused at the explanation, “I haven’t moved.  Why have I been getting shocked?”

Talia smiled, “Remember, you are as much Damian’s torture device as I am.”

“I don’t get it,” Tim said.

“It’s quite simple.  If he moves, you get shocked.  If you move, he gets shocked.”

Tim’s jaw dropped in horror.  “Does Damian know that,” Tim gasped.

Talia’s smile grew a hint of cruelty, “Of course he knows that.  He knows that any move he makes has the potential to electrocute you.  That is why he is doing everything he possibly can to stay as still as possible.  I, on the other hand, am doing everything in my power to make him move.”

“What good does torturing me do, when you have always been out to hurt Damian?”

Talia was pacing back and forth in front of Tim, “Your pain is purely coincidental, but it serves a purpose.  I may have trained Damian too well; his pain tolerance is quite high.  However, seeing him at war with himself, how much can he tolerate before his body forces him to protect himself, is fairly enjoyable to watch.  You see, his torture doesn’t stop until we can hear you screaming through the wall.  At that point, one form of torture stops, and another begins.  I have told him that, once he has moved enough to allow us to hear what’s going on in here, I will stop.  I will leave him to his own devices, to wonder exactly what sort of pain he has inflicted on you, but not for long.”

“You bitch,” Tim snarled, “How can you do that to your own son?”

Talia took a step closer, her eyes flashing dangerously, “Watch your tone when you address me.  Your torture could get much worse, you know.  Your shocks hurt, but the voltage level is non-lethal, for now.  I can change that at any time.  The generator is powerful enough to burn you to a crisp, if I so desired.  And, just so you know how serious I am…”

Talia trailed off as she walked around the bed and yanked on one of Tim’s chains.  Several seconds later, a high-pitched scream could be heard from the other side of the wall to Tim’s left.  It took him several seconds before he realized exactly what the sound was and where it was coming from, but Tim’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening, “Wait!  What are you doing?  Stop!”

Talia held the chain for another ten seconds before letting it go.  The screams were still echoing in Tim’s ears as he asked, “How can you do this?  Why are you doing this?  What do you want from us?”

Talia walked back into Tim’s line of sight, “I want Damian to fulfill his destiny.  I want him to stop playing around and finally live up to his birthright.  He was meant for so much more than this.  He was meant for so much more than jumping around one fairly insignificant city in a cape and tights.  Damian will eventually rule the world, but not if he stays in Gotham City.”

Tim was astonished at what he was hearing.  _I think she’s lost it._   “Do you expect him to just give up everything he’s worked for?  Do you think he’s going to trust that you have his best interest at heart, when you’ve spent the last four years telling him he’s worthless to you, and that you’re planning to kill him?  Do you think he’s going to forgive and forget, after you strapped us down and tortured us?  Do you think he even wants to live your vision of his life?”

“He will be given a choice,” Talia said evenly.

“You tried that once already, Talia.  If I remember correctly, it didn’t go your way last time.  What makes you think it will be any different this time?”

“It’s very simple,” Talia explained, “The two of you will be presented to Ra’s when we arrive, the day after tomorrow.  Damian will be given a knife.  If he kills you, he will be allowed to live, and will resume his place with the League.  If he refuses to kill you, you will be summarily executed before his eyes, before he is granted his own death.  If he turns the knife on himself, you will be killed immediately.  If he tries to kill either Ra’s or me, you both will be killed.  As you can see, you would have been much better off letting me take Damian, without getting involved, because there is no version of this where you survive.”

Tim tried not to let the fear he was feeling in this moment show up in his voice.  _I understand why Damian was the way he was when he first came to us now._   “You’re forgetting something, Talia.  Bruce is no doubt tracking us.  He can reach us before you can get back to the League of Assassins.  Bruce will come, and you can bet he won’t be alone.  You’ve got a League of Assassins, but Bruce has a League of his own.  You can bet that the whole Justice League will show up for this one.  It will take all of them to keep Bruce from tearing you limb from limb when he finds us.”

Talia’s look was mostly conflicted, but with a hint of victory in her gaze, “You think Bruce is coming?  He’s going to have a hard time tracking you, especially since I destroyed the tracker chips in both of your belts.”

_Just the ones in our belts?  I’m not going to give anything away that she obviously doesn’t know, but maybe I can throw her off a bit._   “Bruce will still find us.  He has his ways.”

Talia’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward just a bit as she demanded, “Where are the other trackers?”

Tim smirked, “Nowhere you’ll be able to find.  I only had the one in my belt.  Damian, on the other hand…let’s just say Bruce wants to be able to find him, no matter where he is or what he’s wearing.”

Talia’s narrowed eyes widened, “Bruce put a subcutaneous tracker on Damian?  Damian allowed him to do that?”

Tim shook his head, “No.  At least, not the subcutaneous tracker you’re thinking of.  Damian doesn’t know about it, but every few weeks, Bruce has Alfred serve Damian breakfast, sprinkled with a healthy dose on nanotrackers.  Damian has no idea that his stomach is a location device.  Like I said, it doesn’t matter what he’s wearing, Bruce can track him.  Can I assume that you have given Damian the same wardrobe options as you’ve given me?  Face it, Talia, the only way for Bruce not to find us would be for you to gut Damian and throw his entrails into the ocean.”

Talia looked like she was considering it, and Tim winced internally.  _I hope I didn’t just give her an idea._

“Why does my Beloved only do this for Damian?  Why not for the rest of you?”

“He used to,” Tim said, then thought to himself, _I know I’m making this up, but the more I invent, the more probable it sounds to me.  I think this really is something Bruce would do._   Tim shrugged slightly, not moving his arms, “Actually, he might still do it to us.  I hadn’t thought about it before.  I always figured it was something he would stop as we got older, but this is Bruce we’re talking about.”

The pair fell silent for a minute, thinking.  Tim couldn’t stop his morbid curiosity at his situation, “So, there’s no way I’m going to survive this?”

Talia shook her head, “Your death will lead Damian back to the path he is destined to walk.”

“You really think my brother will kill me, just like that?”

Talia looked at Tim quizzically, “Brother?  Living under the same roof does not make you related.  You are not his brother.”

Tim shook his head, “Living under the same roof doesn’t make us brothers, but having the same father does.  Unlike Dick and Jason, Bruce actually adopted me.  Legally, and emotionally, Bruce is my father.  Are you seriously telling me that, in all your research and spying on us, you didn’t know that?  I’m sorry, Talia, but Damian _is_ my brother.”

Talia shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.  Damian will choose his destiny.”

“What if he chooses death instead of joining you?  He’s not the same kid you dumped on Bruce’s doorstep four years ago.  Damian’s come a long way.”

Talia sighed, “If he chooses death, then we will know that my original estimation of his weakness was accurate.”

“My brother is not weak,” Tim snarled.

“You say that as if you actually care for him,” Talia said, “Didn’t he try to kill you before?”

“For the entire first year we were around each other.  That’s what led us to start a relationship, and to become brothers.  Why do you even want him, after all this time of making him feel like shit?”

“Damian was told, when he first chose to live with Bruce, that it was only temporary.  It is time he came home and resumed his rightful role.”

“My brother doesn’t want that role.” Tim said, “He’s come a long way, Talia.”

“What could you possibly offer him that I can’t?”

Tim shook his head exasperatedly, “Didn’t you ever want him to be happy?”

Talia asked innocently, “What could possibly make him happier than ruling the world?”

“That’s your dream, Talia,” Tim said seriously, “Did you ever stop to find out what his dream is?  I bet his dream has nothing to do with world domination.”

Talia crossed her arms over her chest, “Okay, what do you think would make him happy?”

“His family,” Tim said, “Damian is with people who make him happy.  He is accepted there, and he accepts us.  Damian smiles now.  Have you ever seen him smile?  It’s amazing.”

Talia rolled her eyes, “What else could you possibly offer him?”

Tim considered the question for a minute, wondering if it was safe to bring up his next point.  “Would you ever have allowed him to have a girlfriend?”

“One that I approved of, maybe.”

Tim shook his head, “In all your spying on him, have you ever seen them together?  Damian is gentle, and loving, and caring with her.”

Talia scoffed, “Damian could have all the women he wants; any woman in the world.”

“Except the one he actually wants.  He would have never met her if he hadn’t lived in Gotham City.”

“What’s so special about her,” Talia asked, truly at a loss for an explanation of her son’s mysterious attraction to this one teenager.

Tim gave a soft smile, remembering the last time he saw the couple together.  It was like looking at a completely different person than the teen who usually lived across the hall from him.  “They’re in love.  They understand each other.  They want nothing more in the world than to be together.”

Talia shook her head, “Why limit himself like that?”

Tim sighed, “I don’t know, Talia.  It just seems to work for him.”

Talia stared critically at Tim, “Why are you defending him so much?  Remember, he will be the source of your pain.”

Tim had worked through his hastily assembled plan, and had finally run out of things to say, so he decided to just tell her the truth, “To delay you.  To keep you away from Damian.  The longer you are in here, debating with me, the less you are in there, beating Damian, and the more time Bruce has to find us.”

Growing infuriated at herself as she realized that she had been goaded into wasting the last half hour of the limited time she has, Talia raised a hand with a growl to slap Tim.  Tim didn’t flinch at the threat, and Talia dropped her hand.

“I made a promise that Damian would be the only one to hurt you.  I’ll keep that promise, but I swear that you will be begging for mercy in a very short time.  Damian will, as well, but it will not come.  Just remember, when you are crying out in pain, it will be because Damian has been thoroughly beaten.  Your pain will be nothing compared to his.”

Talia stalked out of the room, slamming the door in her wake.  Tim sighed, _well, Damian, I tried.  I’m sorry if I just made it worse for you.  How are you so well-adjusted after ten years with her?  The last half an hour spent with her was enough for me for a lifetime._

_Hurry up, Bruce.  I absolutely believe her threat to kill the both of us, if this whole situation doesn’t go her way._

 

**A/N: Did Tim just make it worse?  Tune in next chapter to find out.  Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel.**


	4. 4

Doubleback

Chapter 4

 

Damian was awoken by a soft kiss on his cheek.  He was warm and comfortable, and covered in a thick quilt.  The familiar weight laying on his shoulder brought a soft smile to his face as he took a contented breath.  He turned his head and met the green eyes he loved so much.

“Hey, you,” Damian said softly.

Robin smiled back at her boyfriend, “Hey, yourself.”

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Robin shook her head, her blonde hair falling gently on his chest, “No, you haven’t.”

Damian leaned over and brushed a kiss against Robin’s lips, “Well, I do.  It hurts when we’re apart.  I wish I could crawl through the phone line every time we talk.”

Robin blushed, “Damian, you’re too romantic for my own good.  I could listen to how much you miss me all day, but I need you to do something for me.”

Damian turned to face Robin, wrapping his arms around her.  He rolled again, to lay on his back, pulling Robin with him, to lay on top of him.  “Anything for you, Beautiful.”

Robin’s smile warmed Damian’s very soul, “I need you to prepare yourself.”

Damian gave an excited smirk, “I’m always ready for you.”

“This is serious, Damian.  You need to be prepared, and you need to stay strong.”

The smirk slid from Damian’s face, “I don’t understand, Robin.”

Robin sighed sadly, “Yes, you do, my Boy Wonder.  Stay strong, for me.  Draw on me for all the strength you need.  I’ve got plenty to spare.”

Damian’s chin started quaking, “Robin, you’re scaring me.  What’s going on?”

Another soft kiss landed on Damian’s lips, helping to quell the quake found there, “You know what’s going on, you just don’t want to think about it.  I don’t blame you; I don’t want you thinking about it, either.”

Damian sighed, and said softly, “You’re not here, are you.”

Robin gazed down at Damian with compassionate eyes, “No, and neither are you, but I want you to remember me, and use this memory to stay strong.  You need your strength much more than I do right now.”

“Can’t we just stay like this,” Damian whined, “I don’t want to wake up, if it means leaving you.”

Robin kissed Damian again, “You have to, if we’re ever going to do this again.  Stay strong, Lover, and prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself for what?”

Robin sighed sadly, “For this.”

Damian was slapped awake, hard, and found himself in a much different situation than the one he had just left.  He was cold, and sore, and facing an enraged Talia Al-Ghul.  _This doesn’t look good,_ he thought.

“Wake up,” Talia snarled fiercely, “You sleep only when I say you can sleep, or when I put you to sleep.”

_Something happened since the last time she was in here.  Wait, I got shocked a couple hours ago.  What did she do to Tim?_   “I’m awake.”

Talia looked Damian up and down, her eyes stopping with disgust on Damian’s waist.  “You dare to flaunt your perverted tendencies in front of me?”

Confused, Damian looked down, then rolled his eyes.  “I’m a teenage boy, Talia.  It happens.”

“It just ‘happens’,” Talia said skeptically, drawing air quotes around the last word.

Damian noticed that she didn’t raise her right arm quite as high as her left, “It happens more often when I dream about my girlfriend, like the dream you just woke me up from, but yes, it does just happen.  Father said it was hormones.”

Talia drew a long dagger out of her sleeve and walked up to Damian.  She held the dagger at his waist, the tip poking into the teen’s groin, “Give me your girlfriend’s address.  Once you’re dead, I’ll cut it off and send it to her.”

Damian stiffened and held his breath, trying his best not to move, “Our anniversary is coming up.  That is not exactly how I wanted her to get that.  I had hoped it would still be attached.”

Talia flicked her wrist to the side, cutting through cloth and skin.  Damian hissed and looked down to see blood seep into the cloth over his left hip.  Talia took half a step back before making a matching cut to Damian’s right hip.

_So, she doesn’t plan on hitting me, this time.  It takes much less effort to slice me up than it does to beat me, especially with how sharp she keeps her knife.  I need to distract her somehow, before I get filleted._

Damian swallowed nervously, “How’s your arm, Talia?  Is your shoulder still sore from beating me?”

Talia was surprised that Damian would ask something like that.  She shrugged, “My shoulder is a little sore.  Not as sore as you are, hopefully.”

Damian nodded, “Yes, you did a thorough job.”

It wasn’t a taunt.  Damian really was sore.  He’d had trouble breathing for several hours after his last beating.  He thought she might have broken a rib or two, but they were just badly bruised.

This time, it seemed like Talia was more intent on using the knife.  “Let’s see if I can do just as thorough a job now.  I noticed you have many more scars than you did when we were together.  Tell me, how did you get them?  For example, this one.”

Talia flicked the point of the blade over a scar on his lower stomach.  She cut over the old wound, opening up a small section, which started trickling blood.

Damian only gave a slight wince, “I got that one on a League mission, for you.  You sent me to Andorra to kill two bankers who had lost three million dollars in League money.”

Talia cut the scar again, opening it a bit wider, “I don’t remember that.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “I’m not surprised.  You only cared that the mission was completed, not if I came back injured.  How many of my injuries do you remember, other than the ones you caused?”

Talia snarled, then backhanded Damian across the mouth.  He tasted blood as his lip split as it was violently forced against his teeth.  Damian just sighed as Talia said, “I’ll remember that one.  Where did you get this one?”

Talia turned Damian’s left arm over and sliced along the scar there.  Damian didn’t flinch, and for the first time in his life, he was happy for nerve damage.  “That one is your fault, too.  Inadvertently, at least.  The last time you tried to infiltrate Father’s businesses, through a shipping company in Morocco.  We figured it out and stopped the deal, but one of your assassins made an attempt on Father’s life.  He got me, instead.”

Talia punched Damian in the stomach, the brass knuckles making another appearance.  Damian coughed, but resolutely held on to the table to not move his arms, as Talia said, “If the assassin missed, then it wasn’t one of mine.”

Damian groaned, then gasped out, “He missed because I made him miss.”

Talia looked at Damian strangely, “What were you doing in a business meeting with my Beloved?”

Damian bristled at the description of his father, “Translating for Father.  Unlike you, Father actually wants me around.  I went with him for the whole three week trip, even after having to have minor surgery to close the wound.”

Talia regarded Damian like she was looking at the embodiment of evil.  She lifted the knife and slashed it across Damian’s left shoulder, opening a two-inch gash over the top of his left shoulder.  “Since you are in a mood to blame me for all of your past injuries, there is one more for the list.”

Damian stared at his shoulder, biting his cheek to keep from crying out in pain.  A line of blood started trickling down his chest, and he had to stop himself from trying to reach for the wound.  He could feel blood dripping onto the metal table and thought to himself, _It’s okay.  It’s going to be okay.  It’s just a flesh wound.  It doesn’t look too deep.  If she isn’t planning on giving me food or water, though, I need it to stop bleeding soon, or I’ll start having problems.  What am I thinking; this whole situation is a problem.  That really hurt.  Please, Father, find me.  I need you._

Talia wasn’t done yet.  As Damian was distracted, Talia plunged the knife half an inch deep in the scar on Damian’s chest, and began slowly dragging the blade the entire length of the scar, from his upper chest to under his arm.  Damian’s eyes widened dramatically as they followed the eight-inch path of the blade through his skin, and his screams of pain could be heard throughout the entire yacht.  He couldn’t take his eyes off of the incision, no matter how much he wanted to.  It looked like the blade hadn’t quite penetrated to the chest wall, but this was a far more serious wound than the new one to his shoulder.

Talia sneered at her one-time son as she yanked the weapon from his side.  Damian was shaking in pain and fear, and his eyes kept darting back and forth between his opened chest and Talia.

Damian’s torturer slammed her brass-knuckled fist into the newly opened flesh, sending fire through Damian’s overwrought nerves.  Damian howled in pain, tears flooding down his face.  From the next room, Tim could be heard yelling, as Damian couldn’t stop his arms from trying to protect himself.

Talia wiped Damian’s blood off of the knife on his underwear and said, “Maybe now you understand.  You aren’t going to be able to leave this room without changing who you’ve become.  You are meant for more than this, and if I have to open a thousand new wounds for you to realize that, then I will.  Unlike that fool who tried to come to your rescue, you have an option to save your life.”

A thought worked its way through the pain, giving Damian a moment of clarity.  His voice weak, Damian gasped out, “What did you do to Tim?  You gave your word of honor that you wouldn’t touch him.”

“Yes, I did.  I have done nothing to him.  If you want to save yourself, you should worry more about our own predicament.”

Damian was panting heavily, his vision clouding, as he slurred out, “Let him go, Mother.  I beg you, spare him.”

Talia slashed at Damian’s injured shoulder again, widening the cut she made just a few minutes ago.  Damian’s nerves were in such a state that he actually didn’t feel the second cut.  “You know, you’ve begged for his life numerous times now.  He hasn’t made the same request.  It seem you care more for him than he cares for you.”

Damian’s head lolled forward, blood loss starting to have an effect, and panted out, “Tim…loves…me.”

“Is that what he tells you,” Talia asked.

Damian took a deep breath, whimpering as his opened chest stretched, “Let him leave, Mother.”

“Mother?” Talia’s eyes widened, “Since when am I ‘mother’ again?”

Damian’s head was spinning with a combination of pain and blood loss, “You…called me…son.”

Talia looked critically at the blood flowing down Damian’s chest, “Hmm, maybe I cut a little too deep on that one.  Can’t have you bleeding out until I’m done with you.”

Talia pulled a lighter out of her pocket and began to heat up the blade of her dagger.  Soon, the blade glowed a dull red along two inches of the surface.  Without warning, Talia pressed the glowing blade against Damian’s chest several times, cauterizing the wound she had just caused.  Damian screamed as his skin was seared closed, thrashing violently and involuntarily until he passed out.  Muffled screams of pain filtered through the wall as Tim was electrocuted by Damian’s uncontrolled motions.  Damian’s last seconds of consciousness found him reaching for his chest.  He didn’t make it, and the tension of the chains was slowly pulling his arms back to rest against the metal table.

Talia sighed and walked out of the room.

_Later, but not much later…_

Damian jerked his head back sharply, slamming it into the metal table in an attempt to get his nose away from the vial of smelling salts Talia was holding.  Damian stupidly shook his head, causing his vision to dim and his stomach to churn, before he was able to focus on Talia again.

“What did you do to me,” Damian slurred out.

Talia put the smelling salts away and held up the bloody, burned blade.  “It doesn’t matter what I did to you.  You should be worried about what I’m planning to do to you next.  I’m not done with you yet.  I told you, this wouldn’t end quickly.”

Damian was trembling with fear.  He spoke with a small voice when he said, “You said you would stop when we could hear Tim screaming.  I heard him before I passed out.”

“And you actually believed I would just let you off at that?  You need to be taught a lesson, and the only teacher that will get through to you is pain.  Your father has let you become soft, and that is unacceptable.”

Damian’s fear grew at the predatory glare Talia was sending him.  He was starting to realize that, no matter how long he hung on, waiting for rescue, it might not be long enough.  “You gave your word.  Grandfather always taught us to keep our word.”

Talia sneered, “I kept my word.  I stopped when that fool screamed.  Now, it’s time to start over.  Tell me where you got that scar, or I’ll cut it open again.”

Talia finally saw what she was hoping for.  After a day and a half of torture, Damian’s defenses were finally down.  He was no longer trying to hide his fear of her and what she could do to him.  He was no longer thinking of defense, he was thinking of survival, and how she held it in her hands.  Her smirk grew as she claimed a silent victory in her efforts.

She waved the knife closer to Damian’s face.  He flinched back and quickly said, “On an investigation as Robin.  A suicide bomber blew up a warehouse, and I got caught in the blast.  It’s also where I got the scar on my knee.”

Smiling, Talia crouched down and started running the edge of the knife along the vertical scar.  To Damian, who was biting his lip and groaning loudly, it felt like she was trying to cut through his leg, one layer of skin at a time.  “I was going to ask you about this scar.  It seems a little too neat to be an injury scar.”

Damian was panting in pain, tears running down his cheeks as he gasped out quickly, “It’s a surgery scar.  I had to have a knee replacement surgery.”

Talia made a noncommittal sound as she continued sawing lightly at the scar.  “Knee replacement, you say?  I’ve never seen what one of those replacements look like.  Should we take a look together?”

The knife pressed just a little harder into the seam.  Damian was doing his best to not move his right leg, lest he do more damage to himself than she was doing, but the rest of his body was shaking in pain.  “Please, no,” Damian pleaded softly, almost too softly to be heard.

Growing bored with not hearing her ex-son scream, Talia stopped cutting at his knee and stood again.  Damian sighed in relief at the few seconds she took, looking him over.

Talia rested the blade against the crook of Damian’s right elbow.  The contact surprised the boy.  His head rose and his eyes widened.  “I don’t have a scar there,” Damian exclaimed, startled and frightened.

“Not yet,” Talia said silkily.

Damian sniffled, “What do you want from me?  Why are you doing this?”

Talia could recognize that her son was breaking before her eyes, “I want you to take your rightful place in life.  I want you to stop playing around, and come back to where you belong.  Unlike your companion, you are being given a choice.”

“This doesn’t feel like much of a choice,” Damian grumbled.

“It’s a choice.  You can either take your rightful place among the League, come back as the Demon’s Fist, or you can die.”

Damian sighed, more tears running down his face, “If that’s my choice, the why waste all this time and effort?  Just go ahead and kill me.  I’m not going back to the League.  I’ve seen too much to live that life again.  Just let Tim go, and kill me.”

Talia shook her head in disappointment, “I told your Grandfather that you would be difficult.  There will be no ‘letting Tim go’.  Either you join us and he dies, or you both die.”

Damian was on the verge of giving up as he cried, “Why drag us all the way around the world, just to kill us?”

“That is for your Grandfather to answer.”

It took a minute for that to sink in to Damian’s overwrought mind.  Slowly, a new thought occurred to the teen.  He looked up and asked, “Grandfather?”

Talia obviously didn’t catch the change in Damian’s attitude, “Ra’s will be the one to pronounce your judgement.  I already told you that, why are you making me repeat myself?”

Undaunted, Damian asked, “Grandfather demanded all of this?”

“Of course.”

Damian cocked his head, “What did he have to say about your mission?”

Talia still didn’t know where Damian was going with this, “To get you home as soon as possible, to either secure your future or seal your fate.”

Damian shook his head, then wished he hadn’t, “But that wasn’t your mission.  You weren’t in Gotham to capture me, you were there to oversee the arms deal.  You didn’t do that.  The Shadows attacked and killed The Troggs, and most of your Assassins.  They were about to kill you, until I stepped in.  I saved your life, and this is how you repay me?  What did Grandfather have to say about that?”

For the first time, Talia looked hesitant, and Damian pounced, “You didn’t tell him.  He doesn’t know your mission was a complete failure, does he?  He doesn’t know that I am the only reason you are still alive.  Do you think he’ll just let that go?  This is Grandfather we’re talking about.  He’ll have your surviving guards interrogated, and probably executed, before you get off the boat.  You are just as much in danger as I am.”

Talia snarled, “I am not the one in danger here, bastard.”

_I hit a nerve,_ Damian thought proudly, _I wonder what that will cost me?_   “Are you sure?  What did you tell me every night, before you drugged me to sleep?  ‘You trained adequately today, but you can do better.  Remember, failure equals death.’  You failed.  There is no way to hide that from Grandfather.  Using me as a distraction will not work long enough to keep you safe.  I’m not the only one whose neck is on the line here.”

Damian could tell that Talia was on the defensive at his accurate representation of events.  Still, the last thing she needed was for Damian to point out all of this to her.

Reaching into her pocket again, Talia pulled out the brass knuckles she had removed from Damian’s utility belt and punched Damian as hard as she could in the side of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Talia stalked out of the room, muttering, “We’ll see whose neck is on the line when we get back to the League.”

 

**A/N: In answer to my rhetorical question from last chapter, I would say that, yes, Tim made it worse.  Two more chapters to go.  Hopefully, I can get this one finished before Christmas.  We’ll see.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	5. 5

Doubleback

Chapter 5

 

Damian regained consciousness in a most shocking way.  The electrodes in his chains had activated, and were sending increasingly strong jolts of electricity through his body.

_Ow!  Ow!  Come on, enough already.  Ow!  Wait, what are you doing to Tim?  Talia, you bitch, leave him alone!_

Damian wanted to open his mouth and yell through the wall, but given the electricity coursing through his body and the exhaustion, he just couldn’t get his mouth to work.

After what sounded like a struggle from Tim’s side of the wall, the electrical shocks subsided, but didn’t stop entirely.  Half a minute later, the door to Damian’s cell flew open, slamming against the wall with a resounding clang.  Damian’s eyes widened at the sight in the hall.  He was barely able to get his mouth to work enough to gasp out, “Kent?”

Clark Kent’s more super personality stared at the trussed-up teen in shock, “Oh my god, Damian!”

In an instant, Superman was standing next to the metal table.  Damian was battered and bruised, with half a dozen visible cuts to his body, and dried blood on his chest, legs, and what was left of his underwear.

Clark was reaching for Damian’s restraints when the teen squeaked out, “Don’t touch me!”

“Why not,” Clark asked.

Damian gave a shiver, “Get Tim out first.”

Clark shook his head, “Bruce has him.  He’s taking him back to the boat as we speak.”

“Find Talia,” Damian said, “She can’t be allowed to escape.”

“Dick, Jason, Wally, Diana, and Ollie are taking care of that.  She won’t get away.”

Clark reached out again, and Damian’s eyes widened, “The chains are electrified!”

Clark stopped, then noticed the occasional spastic jerk that ran through the teen’s body, “Oh my god.  Damian, are you being electrocuted?”

Damian nodded jerkily, “Y-yes.”

Almost faster than Damian could see, three precise bursts of heat vision severed the chains around his wrists and ankles.  The chains slid to the floor as the shocks mercifully stopped.  Damian released a relieved breath, then cringed in pain as he slowly lowered his arms for the first time in days.  His shoulders screamed at him, but it was a welcome relief.  The teen slowly slid off of the table to the floor, his knees protesting just as loudly as his shoulders as he curled himself into the small, protective ball his body had wanted for the last few days.

Several minutes passed, and Clark was surprised that Damian wasn’t crying.  _Tough kid,_ Clark thought, _it looks like he went through hell, and all he is doing is letting his body relax.  Anyone else in the world, almost, would be moaning and complaining, if they were even conscious, or alive._

Needing to get the boy moving, Clark asked softly, “Can I touch you, Damian?”

Damian’s head shot up, “What?”

“We need to get you out of here and back to the boat.  You don’t look to be in any condition to get there on your own.  I know enough of your history to know to ask first before touching you.  Can I help you out of here?  I can carry you if you don’t want to walk.”

No matter how tempting the offer sounded, Damian’s prideful streak wouldn’t allow him to accept help from anyone outside of the family, no matter how much he hurt.  As long as Damian still had two legs that would support his weight and that he could still control, he would leave under his own power.

“I can make it,” Damian said softly, “Just give me a minute.”

Clark gave a soft smile before taking his cape off and draping it over Damian’s back.  Damian looked up with a raised eyebrow.  Clark’s smile grew, “It’s freezing in here.  Temperature doesn’t bother me, and I can still say it’s cold in here.  Bruce will never forgive me if I get you out of here and you catch a cold.”

Too tired to realize the joke, Damian just nodded, “Okay.”

A minute later, Damian took a deep breath and forced himself slowly into a standing position.  Not touching the teen, since he hadn’t been given permission, Clark stood by, ready to catch Damian in case his legs gave out.

Damian looked up and asked, “Are you sure Father got Tim out?”

Clark nodded, “Dr. Thompkins should be examining him as we speak.  Come on, let’s give her another patient.”

“No.”

Clark nearly tripped over himself as he quickly turned back to look at Damian.  “No?  What do you mean, no?”

Damian looked deathly serious as he said, “I’m not leaving until Talia is in custody.”

Superman sighed, “I told you, that’s already being taken care of.”

“I’m not leaving until I see it,” Damian said testily, “I’ve earned that much.”

“Bruce’s orders were to get you back to the ship as soon as possible.”

Damian glared daggers at Clark, letting the Kryptonian have no doubt about who Damian’s father is, “If Father wants me off of this boat, he can come and get me himself.  I’m not leaving until I see Talia in custody.  She cannot be allowed to get away with this.”

Clark met Damian’s gaze for a minute, then relented, “Okay.  Let’s at least get you to a warmer part of the boat.”

Damian nodded, “Sure.  Talia’s cabin is behind the bridge.  She probably has my uniform there.”

They took a step towards the door, and Damian’s knees came perilously close to buckling.  He leaned over and supported himself on the bulky alien, then looked up at the surprised face staring down at him and nodded.  Clark wrapped an arm around Damian’s shoulders to steady him, and they began moving again.  Damian moved far more slowly than he predicted, and by the time they reached the door, Damian needed to stop and rest.

“Wait,” the teen said as they entered the corridor, “Give me a minute.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

“I’ll make it.  I haven’t supported my weight in a couple days.”  Damian took a couple deep breaths before asking, “You said you are here, and West is here.  You weren’t dumb enough to bring the kids on a mission like this, were you?”

Clark shook his head, “They wanted to come, but there was no way we were going to allow that.  Why, did you want to see them?”

Damian released his breath, “Well, yes, eventually, but not here.  I’m glad you were smart enough to not bring them.  No one should ever be exposed to my mother.  They…they don’t need to see this, or know about it.”

“They’re going to ask questions, Damian.  They know we’re out here to bring you and Tim back home.”

Damian sighed, “Those are questions that should only be asked to me, and only answered by me.”

Clark nodded, “I’ll make sure Wally gets the message.”

Clark and Damian turned in the direction of a gasp, heard from the end of the hall.  Dick and Jason had walked into the hall, and were staring at the pair in shock.

“Dick,” Damian whispered.

Damian turned and started hobbling down the hall.  The red cape slipped from his shoulders as his speed increased, and Dick only had a second for his jaw to drop at the sight of his brother, before Damian wrapped his arms tightly around his brother.  Dick was at an impasse.  He wanted to sweep his little brother up in his arms and never let him go, but at the same time, he thought Damian might fall apart if he touched him.  Dick glanced up at Clark in askance, but Clark just shrugged as he put his cape back on.

“I’ll just go check on how everyone else is doing,” Clark said.

Damian finally leaned back and looked up at Dick, “You came.”

Dick tried to smile, “You’re here.  We wouldn’t leave either of you to her.”

Damian knew what Dick was aiming at as he buried his face in Dick’s chest again.  “Thanks for coming, Jason,” Damian’s muffled voice rose from Dick’s chest.

Dick and Jason smirked at each other as Jason shrugged his jacket off and draped it over Damian’s back.  “Here, you’re shivering.”

Damian hissed sharply and nearly jumped out of Dick’s grasp, “No.  Ow.  Thank you, but no.”

“What’s wrong,” Jason asked.

“My shoulder.”

Dick looked down at the wound and cringed.  “That cut is all inflamed.  It looks like you might be getting an infection.  Let’s go have Leslie check it out.”

The three started walking down the hall, Damian leaning on Dick far more than he had on Clark.  Damian said, “Just so you know, I’m not leaving until Mother is caught.”

“Yes, you are, Brat,” Jason said.

Damian sighed, “Just because I’m beat to shit doesn’t mean I can’t take you, Todd.  I went through this with Kent already.”

Jason sighed, “In that case, here.”  Jason reached into a pocket and pulled out an earwig.  “Right or left?”

Damian eyed the device.  “Right,” he said, then turned his head to allow Jason to insert the device into his ear.

It didn’t take more than ten seconds before Damian came to a halt, a smile pushing its way onto his face.  “Clark, what’s the hold up?  I told you to get my son back to the ship immediately.”

Clark’s voice came through the communications device, “He won’t leave.  Don’t worry, he’s with Dick and Jason.”

Dick and Jason both winced as Bruce addressed them, “Richard John Grayson, Jason Peter Todd, explain yourselves.”

Jason nudged Damian, who only hissed in pain a little bit, “I’m…more or less okay, Father.”

Bruce’s shocked inhalation surprised everyone who was on the line, “Damian.  God, it’s good to hear your voice, son.  Is he really okay?”

Dick spoke this time, “I’m hoping he’s better than he looks, but he’s up and walking.”

“Damian, I want you…”

Damian interrupted forcefully, “ _Not_ until Talia is in custody.  I don’t want there being any chance of her getting away.”

Bruce was quiet for a second, and everyone could hear him fuming, “Get somewhere out of the way and wait for me.”

Damian sighed, “Father, I don’t want to be part of her capture.  I just have to know that this is over before I can leave.”

“We won’t let him out of our sight, Bruce,” Dick said.

“No, you won’t,” Bruce said darkly, “We’ll talk about this soon.”

Dick and Jason followed Damian closely through the boat.  Jason asked, “Why do you want to go to the bridge?  There’s a chance Talia might be there.  You said you didn’t want to be part of her capture.”

Damian shivered, “It has to be warmer up there than down here, and her cabin is right there.  That’s probably where she stashed my uniform.”

Damian stopped outside of a closed door, his hand hovering over the knob and shaking slightly.  Dick asked softly, “What is it?”

Damian took a shaky breath, “This is her room.  She might be in there.”

Dick and Jason looked at each other.  Jason asked, “Do you want us to go in there first?”

Damian nodded, “Would you?  I…I don’t want to see her.”

Jason nodded, “I checked the bridge, and it’s empty.  Why don’t you wait for us in there?  We’ll take a look in here.”

Damian turned and entered the bridge as Dick and Jason flanked the door.  “Thanks, you two,” Damian said softly as his older brothers breached Talia’s door.

Damian took a quick look around the bridge before sitting in a chair in front of a console.  It was nice to get his bare feet off of the cold deck, but the chair wasn’t much warmer.  Damian was idly kicking his feet when he noticed a light flashing on the panel.

_That’s the communications system, if remember correctly.  Wait, only one person would be calling Talia’s boat._

Damian pushed the button with a shaky finger.  Before he had a chance to say anything, a harsh, yet familiar, voice sounded over the line.

“I’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes.  How dare you keep me on hold for so long, Daughter?”

Damian took a deep breath, to steady his nerves, before speaking, “I apologize for the inconvenience, Grandfather, but Talia is unable to speak to you right now.”

The surprise was palpable in Ra’s voice, “Damian?  What is going on?  Have you decided to accept your mother’s offer?”

“What offer was that,” Damian shot back, “Was that the offer of days of torture before you execute me and my brother?”

“What has happened,” Ra’s demanded darkly, “Why are you answering this line?  Where is Talia?”

“I don’t know where Talia is.  I’m on this line because the Justice League doesn’t abandon their own.  My Father doesn’t want me ending up like my Mother.  If they haven’t captured her yet, it is only a matter of time before they do.”

Ra’s was quiet for a second before asking, “What do they intend to do with her?”

Damian shook his head, while thinking _he almost sounds concerned for her welfare._   “I don’t know yet.  Before that is decided, I wanted to ask you about her mission in Gotham.  I know you didn’t send her there to capture me.”

“No, I did not.  You were just a bonus after another successful mission.”

Damian cocked his head, not quite believing what he was hearing, “Is that what she told you?”

Ra’s sounded suspicious, “Yes, why?”

Damian wanted to laugh, but knew it wouldn’t go over well, “I hate to tell you this, but Talia lied to you.  Her mission wasn’t a success, and the only reason she is around to lie to you is because of me.”

“What,” Ra’s hissed dangerously, “How dare you make up such lies?”

“It’s not a lie, Grandfather.  Question her remaining guards, they will tell you.  Talia’s mission was a failure.  The League of Shadows showed up and killed the gang she was dealing with.”

Ra’s sounded like he still didn’t believe his grandson, “Talia obviously won the conflict, if she is returning home.  How is the death of a group of Shadows a failure?”

Damian sneered, “She didn’t win.  She was a minute away from being executed when I stepped in.  I was there investigating a suspected arms deal.  I saved her life, and she attacked me while I was doing that, and repaid my misguided actions with torture.”

“Why didn’t she tell me this,” Ra’s asked quietly.

Damian sighed, “I’m assuming it is because she was raised with the same mantra I was, Failure Equals Death.  I don’t think she is anticipating outliving me by too wide of a margin.”

Damian fell silent, and the line was tensely quiet for a handful of seconds.  Ra’s again asked, “What do you plan to do with her?”

Damian thought for a second, “She will be caught in short order.  This isn’t that big of a yacht.  Unfortunately, she knows too much to be put in any prison on the planet.  Knowing Talia, she would talk.  She would give away anything to keep herself out of prison, and she knows enough to secure her freedom before she could be booked.  Superman will most likely insist on an off-world prison, where none of her information will be of use to anyone.” Damian sighed, “I should be recommending that she be dropped in the deepest hole we can find and left to rot, but I can’t.  I should be suggesting she be launched into the sun, but I can’t.  I can’t bring myself to do that.  No one who knew what she’s done to me would blame me for wanting her gone forever, but I can’t bring myself to make that decision.  There is no way she should be let go, not after what she’s done, but that is exactly what I’m going to do.  I will return Talia to you.  You can take care of whatever punishment you see fit.  I would ask one thing, Grandfather.  If her punishment is to not include death, I would ask you to keep her out of Gotham and away from my family.  This is the last time I can cover for her.”

Ra’s was stunned at what he heard, “Would you ask for her death, Grandson?”

It made Damian feel good, to hear that name again, “She told me, from the first time I woke up in her torture chamber, that she was leaving my fate up to you.  I should ask for her death, but I can’t.  After everything she’s done to me, she’s still my Mother, and there is still a soft spot for her in my heart.  That’s why I’m leaving her punishment up to you.  She would have made you decide my fate.  I give you the right to decide hers.  I was raised being told that failure equals death.  Now, it’s up to you to make that decision.”

Ra’s sounded surprised, “You would trust me with something so important to you, after all this time?  Something against my own daughter?”

Damian spoke quietly, “I’ve always trusted, and respected you, Grandfather.”

“It will be taken care of, Grandson.”

The line was silent for several long seconds before Damian said, with a hint of remorse, “This will be the last time we speak, won’t it, Grandfather.”

Ra’s seemed to have the same remorse in his voice.  Or, it could have been Damian’s imagination.  “That seems likely, Grandson.  Just so you know, I was against Talia naming you an enemy of the house.  Goodbye, Damian.”

The line disconnected before Damian could whisper, “Goodbye, Grandfather.”

“You do realize that Bruce is going to shit a brick when he hears that you just did.”

Damian jumped out of his chair in surprise as Jason’s voice sounded from near the door.

Dick nodded, standing next to Jason, “He’s not the only one who is going to get in on the brick shitting.  I think the whole League is going to want an explanation.”

Damian sighed as he walked over to his brothers, “I want her gone forever, but I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“Then let Superman send her off-planet,” Dick said.

“I can’t do that, either.”

“Who says you have any say in what happens to her,” Jason asked.

Dick and Damian ignored Jason’s question.  Dick asked, “Why can’t you?”

Damian looked up sadly, “Could you sentence your mother to exile?  Could either of you banish your mothers to an alien world, to rot in jail?”

“But Damian…”

Damian interrupted, “She deserves it, I know, but…I can’t do it.  I can’t give that order, and I can’t stand knowing that others could give that order.”

Dick walked up to his brother and rested his hand on the boy’s undamaged shoulder, “Damian, you’ve given her every chance, and then some.  Your mother is not going to change.  You know this.  Now is the time to look out for yourself.  You can’t let her drag you down, because you want to save her.  Some people just don’t want to be saved, and there is nothing you can do about that.  I hate to say this, and you’re going to hate me for saying it, but it’s time to let her go.”

Damian’s head dropped.  Dick reached up and cupped the teen’s cheek, and Damian leaned into Dick’s hand.  “I know,” Damian whispered in a watery voice.

The earpieces crackled in all of their ears, and Wonder Woman’s voice broke through, “I have her.”

 

**A/N:  This seemed like a good place to cut this one off.  We have one final chapter to go in this story.  I hope everyone is enjoying this one.  The next story in the timeline, Our Father’s Sons, is finished and ready to post.  It should be up by the end of the weekend.  Maybe.  I am also starting a second chapter to the story Baby Steps.  I wasn’t planning one originally, but I want to see where it goes.**

**Still looking for a villain for Hero Hunt.  Haven’t heard any feedback on that one, yet.**

**Let me know what you think of this one.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	6. 6

Doubleback

Chapter 6

 

“I have her.”

Dick and Jason eyed Damian, who tensed at the announcement.

“Bring her up to the main corridor,” Clark’s voice sounded through the comms, “We’ll secure her and get out of here.”

Damian looked out of the door of the bridge to see the corridor in question.  Dick held on to Damian’s shoulder and said, “She’s in custody.  The League has her.  You can leave now.”

Damian shrugged Dick’s hand off of his shoulder and stepped into the hall.  Dick and Jason followed him as he said quietly, “I have to see it.”

Bruce walked into the hallway and was surprised to see three of his sons standing there.  _What the hell did she do to him?  That looks terrible, kiddo._   “Damian.”

The boy’s eyes brightened, “Father!”

Bruce sighed and shook his head, “We need to get you out of here and get those wounds treated.  Talia will pay for what she did to you.”

Damian took a deep breath as Superman stepped into the hall, “I’ll be fine, Father.  It looks worse than it is.  We need to talk about her punishment.”

Bruce nodded, “We will, after we get her secured.”

Damian shook his head, “No, Father.  I, um, made a deal.  A deal that all of you are going to say I’m not qualified to make.  I made it anyway.”

Bruce had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t going to like what Damian had to say, “What sort of deal?”

Instead of answering, Damian’s eyes went wide and he gasped.  Bruce asked, “What?”

“Talia.”

Even though the teen barely breathed the name, it was loud enough to bring the corridor to a halt.  Wonder Woman was leading the bound woman up to face the core of the League when Damian noticed them approaching.  Bruce looked back and forth between Talia and Damian as they glared daggers at each other.

Finally understanding something that had eluded him for too long, Bruce spoke softly.  “Dick, Jason, step back.”

Dick and Jason both reached out, grabbed Damian under his arms, and took a couple steps back.

“No,” Bruce said, “Let him go, and step back.”

“Are you kidding, Bruce,” Dick asked seriously.

Bruce moved to position himself in front of Clark before shaking his head, “No.  He’s earned this.”

Damian was released, and his brothers took a step back.  Damian gazed at Bruce for a second before his eyes turned to Talia.  Talia’s eyes held nothing but contempt for the teen that was once her son, and with a rising battle cry, Damian charged at his ex-mother.  To her credit, Talia didn’t flinch when Damian raised a fist.  Damian stopped in front of the bound woman, fist ready to deliver what everyone in the hall knew could be a fatal blow.

But, it didn’t come.

The moment stretched out, until Damian finally sighed heavily, and dropped his arm back to his side.

“I can’t do it,” the boy said quietly.

A feral smile crossed Talia’s face, “I knew it.  That just proves how weak, how unworthy you are.”

Damian stared at the floor, but his voice was strong as he said, “It proves that I’m not you.”

He took a breath, his head slowly rising to meet Talia’s eyes, “I love you, and I always have.  However, I don’t think you know what that means.  I think, to you, love equals control.  You love something…someone…only as long as you can dominate it…them, and you don’t care what that does to anyone else.  All I ever wanted was to be accepted, and you twisted that.  You offered it as a reward for doing your bidding.”  Damian gave a small chuckle, “You know, I’ve defended you my whole life.  I gave everything I had to please you.  I actually used to believe it was my fault when you would beat me.  Every time you hit me, I believed it was because I had done something wrong, that I wasn’t good enough, and that it was for my own good.  Every night that I cried myself to sleep while still bleeding from your hand, or woke up screaming from nightmares, I knew it was because I had disappointed you in some way.  I wasn’t good enough, and that was your way of helping me to improve.”

Talia glared at Damian and said, “You’re right.  You weren’t…”

Damian cut her off with a glare, “Shut up.  I’m not done yet.”

Talia finally did flinch at the look, and the venom in Damian’s voice.  Bruce hid his smile as Damian continued, “I’ve spent my whole life wondering what I did wrong, and you’ve finally given me my answer.  Nothing.  I did nothing wrong.  My only crime is that you’re my mother.  The only thing I did wrong is inherit Father’s ability to love and desire to be loved in return.  The worst thing in the world I did, in your eyes, was to think for myself.  I chose Father over you, and if that’s a crime, then I’m guilty.  I’ve felt guilty for my crime for the past four years, but not anymore.  You’ve shown me that I’ve been hoping for something that doesn’t exist, and maybe never existed.  I hoped that you could be convinced to change, to…to love me.  Now, I know that will never happen.  What a fool I’ve been.”

Damian paused for a deep breath.  You could hear a pin drop in the hallway, as Wonder Woman surreptitiously wiped at a tear on her cheek.  Dick was doing the same thing.  Damian took another deep breath, feeling the heat rising behind his own eyes, and a single tear worked its way slowly down his cheek.  “I’m sure Father wants you sent to the most secure prison he can find, but that can’t happen.  You know too much, and I have no doubt you would use your knowledge to save yourself, to free yourself before you could even see a cell.  Kent is then going to try to send you to an off-planet prison, where everything you know will be useless, and even Grandfather’s influence would mean nothing.  As much as that is the right course of action, I’ve made a deal that makes that impossible.”

Bruce and Clark cringed at Damian’s revelation, wondering just what had gone on without their knowledge.  Damian shook his head and sighed, “I still have that soft spot for you, and I suspect I always will.  I know my feeling is not being returned, and it is a stupid thing to have, but it’s there.”

Damian met Talia’s eyes, a bit nervously, “I spoke to Grandfather.”

Bruce’s jaw dropped as he looked to Dick for confirmation.  Dick sighed and nodded silently to his father.

Talia looked skeptical, yet a little fearful, at that revelation.  Damian continued, “Needless to say, he wasn’t happy at what I had to tell him, especially the part about you lying to him about the outcome of your mission.  He was disappointed that, not only did you fail your mission, but you lied to him about it, and you tried to use my capture to cover up your failure.  If I were him, I would be wondering just how many other missions have you failed and lied to cover up.  He also wasn’t too happy when I reminded him of the mantra you drilled into my head at every possible opportunity, failure equals death.”

Fear was plainly evident on Talia’s face as Damian continued, “Grandfather and I came to an arrangement.  You are to be returned to him.  Grandfather will decide your punishment, as you would have had him decide mine.”  Damian growled out, “If you survive his wrath, we have agreed that you will never come near my family again.  Father, batarang.”

Diana gasped at the request.  Clark started forward, but was stopped by Bruce, with a hand on his chest.  Bruce stepped forward and placed a sleek, sharpened bat shape in Damian’s outstretched hand.  Dick was holding his breath as Damian held up the weapon and examined it for a second.  He held the point of the wing to Talia’s throat, and everyone in the corridor except for Batman took an involuntary step forward.  Talia lifted her chin, daring Damian to attack.  Diana was shaking her head and sending a silent look at the teen that screamed _don’t do it._

Damian pulled his arm back quickly, looking for all the world like he was getting ready to strike, when he said, “Not this one.”

His eyes never left Talia’s.  Bruce took the sharpened weapon gently from Damian’s hand and replaced it with a heavy, blunt one.

Clark spoke up quickly, “Talia, the Justice League does not agree with this course of action, but a deal has been made, and we will abide by it.  Know this, though: If you ever set foot in the western hemisphere again, we will know about it.  You will be arrested and transported to the prison planet of Arcturis Prime.  Not even Damian’s intervention will stop us, if we have to deal with you again.”

Talia sneered defiantly at Superman, “Your threats don’t scare m…”

Her voice trailed off as Damian slammed the blunt batarang into the side of Talia’s head.  She slumped to the deck, unconscious, and Damian watched her long enough to make sure she was still breathing.  His eyes migrated further down, to stare at his bare feet as he spoke, giving orders to the Justice League, even though he had no authority to do so.

“Get her out of my sight.  Kent, take her downstairs and chain her up in the same room where you found me.  I guess you can disconnect the electrodes.  Set the autopilot and increase speed by three knots.  The boat should arrive by tomorrow evening, so you don’t need to make provisions for food or water.  She didn’t bother making any for us.  Dick, Jason, did you find my uniform?  I’m freezing.”

Damian handed the weapon back to Bruce.  It took a second before the League jumped to the tasks Damian had set out; not because they were offended at taking orders from a junior member, but they were astonished at how much Damian sounded like Bruce in that moment.  There was no doubt in any of their minds about Damian’s parentage.

The League left to take care of their final tasks, leaving Bruce and Damian alone in the corridor.  Bruce took the batarang from Damian’s numb hand, then pulled off a gauntlet and rested his hand on Damian’s uninjured shoulder.  The teen didn’t flinch, but he did sigh heavily.

“I’m sorry, Father,” Damian said softly.

Bruce moved his hand to his son’s cheek gently.  Damian slowly lifted his face, and he was surprised to find his father smiling at him.

Clark returned first and asked Bruce, “How did you know that Damian wouldn’t kill her?”

Bruce gently pulled Damian to his side, draping his cape around the boy to share a little warmth.  He was happy when arms wrapped around his waist tightly.  “I know my son.”

“Yeah, but…”

Bruce interrupted, “Only Damian had the right to decide what happened to Talia.  He made his choice.  I think he made a good one.”

Damian smiled softly at hearing that.  Clark looked skeptically at Bruce, “And, if he’d chosen differently?”

Bruce sighed, “Then it would have been my responsibility to stop him, and my fault if he succeeded.”

Damian looked up and mumbled, “We don’t do that.  We don’t kill.  Would you trust your son around a killer?”

Clark thought for a second, “Aren’t you a killer?”

Damian shook his head, but Clark caught the haunted look in the boy’s eyes, “I’ve killed in the past.  I’m not a killer.  I would think you would understand the difference.”

Clark nodded, “I do, which is why I trust you to be around Jon.”  Clark looked up at Bruce, “Why did you give him a weapon?”

“Because he isn’t only Damian Wayne, son of Bruce.  He is Robin, son and partner of Batman.  Our weapons are lethal, but my partner knows better than to use one of our weapons to kill.  Believe me, if he had asked for a knife, he wouldn’t have gotten it.”

Damian looked up and said in a small voice, “Can we go, Dad?”

Bruce reached down and picked Damian up, trying to keep him under his cape while not pressing against any of his injuries.  “Are we through here, Clark?”

Clark regarded father and son and nodded, “Go on back to the ship.  Diana and I will make sure everything is good over here, then fly back.  Everyone else should already be onboard.  You can start heading back, we’ll catch up.”

Bruce turned and started to head out of the yacht.  Damian rested his head against Bruce’s and asked, “What ship?  Did he mean the Batboat?”

Bruce gave a soft smile, “The Batboat doesn’t have the range or capacity we needed.  We needed something bigger.  It’s…new.”

They stepped into the wind and Damian’s eyes popped at the disarmed military vehicle moored next to Talia’s yacht.  “Father, did you buy a frigate to come for me and Tim?”

Bruce hugged his son tighter as the teen shivered in the wind, “You two are worth it.  I _am_ going to have to hold your allowance for a while, though.”

Crossing into the ship, Damian saw a familiar logo painted on the wall, “You didn’t buy this at all, did you?”

Bruce gave a smile, “It was purchased through the Justice League, but I did the final negotiations.”

Bruce led Damian deeper into the ship as Damian imagined how that negotiation must have gone.  “So, then, why are you holding my allowance?  Is that my punishment for getting kidnapped?”

“It was a joke, Damian,” Bruce said patiently.

The pair entered a brightly lit and comfortably heated infirmary.  Damian had been expecting someone to hug him since he came aboard, but the person who grabbed him wasn’t the person he was expecting.  “Dr. Thompkins?”

Leslie whispered in Damian’s ear, “I’m glad you’re safe, hon.  Those cuts look pretty bad.  Let’s get you cleaned up and taken care of.”

Leslie led Damian to an examination table, but the teen stopped as he looked at the next table over.  Tim was lying on the table, not moving, covered with a blanket, tucked up under his chin.

Damian’s jaw shook as he asked, “Is Tim okay?”

Leslie smiled, “He’ll be just fine.”

“Why isn’t he moving?”

Leslie patted Damian’s back and said, “He’s asleep.  He said he only got a few minute’s sleep since you two were taken.”

Damian still looked concerned, “He told you he was electrocuted, right?  He doesn’t have any decalcification of his bones?”

Leslie shook her head, “Nothing a couple extra glasses of milk won’t fix.  Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Damian hopped up on the table distractedly, and said, “I’d rather take a hot shower.  I, um, soiled myself.”

The doctor gave a compassionate smile at the admission from the prideful teen, “You were chained up for days.  No one expects you to hold it for that long.  Do you mind…”

Damian sighed, his attention returning to the doctor, “Thank you for asking, but just do what you have to do.  This isn’t going to be like my last examination.”

“It’s not?”

Damian stood, dropped what was left of his underwear, and sat again.  “Let’s get this over with.  I want to put something warm on.”

_Three Hours Later…_

Bruce sat on a chair, between the beds of his sleeping sons.  They were all thoroughly exhausted, and Damian had fallen asleep almost before his exam was over.  Bruce had basically quarantined the medical bay, limiting admittance to himself and Dr. Thompkins, and no one else.

The door knob made the slightest squeak as it was turned, waking Bruce from his light doze.  He was ready to snarl at whoever had defied his orders and was trying to disturb his boys.  He had already thrown Dick out twice, begging him to just let his brothers sleep.

Bruce hissed, “I told you all, no one is allowed to…oh.  Sorry, Leslie.”

The only person other than Bruce who had unrestricted access to the boys walked into the medical bay.  Leslie smiled at Bruce’s protective side as she said quietly, “Are they still asleep?”

Bruce nodded as he pulled up a chair for the doctor, “Yeah.  Can you tell me how bad Damian is now?”

Leslie shrugged, “Now is as good a time as any.  You may not believe this, but I’ve treated much worse from him.  While I was treating him, he told me, in minute detail, what that woman did to him.  It seems she was more interested in causing pain, instead of damage.  He’s got some good bruising around the stomach area.  I tell you, if his core muscles weren’t in the shape they are, he could have had much more in the way of internal injuries.  No broken bones this time, but he does have some bruised ribs.”

“How about his cuts,” Bruce asked, staring at his youngest.

Leslie sighed, “Damian said she was interested in his scars.  She used them as a template for where to cut.  They really don’t seem too bad.  The ones on his hips are not deep at all.  They just required band-aids.  I’ve got three butterfly bandages on the one on his stomach.  The other two required stitches.”

Bruce shivered, “She cut along the dotted line?”

Leslie shook her head sadly, “More or less.”

“How many stitches are we talking about?”

“Four in his shoulder.”

Bruce looked at Leslie strangely, “Only four?  That seemed like a pretty long cut for just four stitches.”

“I’d like to put in at least double that, but I’m not going to risk it while the wound is infected.  I don’t know what got in there, but he has a little infection.  Don’t worry, I pumped him full of antibiotics.”

Bruce nodded, then asked quietly, “How about his chest?”

Leslie sighed, “Thirty-five stitches.  Bruce, Damian told me a lot about his mother while I was cleaning him up, and I just don’t get it.  What did you ever see in her?”

Bruce growled, but Leslie could tell that it was aimed at himself, “I saw myself get injured on a mission, get drugged, and get taken advantage of.”

“You don’t have to phrase it so nicely, Father.  I won’t mind if you say how you really feel.”

Bruce and Leslie’s heads snapped in Damian’s direction.  The teen still looked like he was asleep.

“How long have you been awake,” Bruce asked.

“How long have you been sitting there?”

Bruce smiled, “A couple hours.”

Damian turned his head and opened his eyes, “Oh.  Well, not that long.  Maybe ten minutes.”

“You need to be resting, kiddo.”

“I am resting,” Damian said with a smile, “Look, lying down and everything.”

Bruce sighed, “We didn’t mean to wake you up, pal.  Leslie and I can talk outside.”

Tim spoke up from his bed, “Does this mean story time is over?”

Dick, who had been waiting less than patiently in the hallway, upon hearing extra voices, entered the medical bay and laid down on Damian’s bed, which was the closest to the door, “Aww, come on.  We want a story, daddy.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “How is it that you are the youngest of all your brothers?  This is not an episode of How I Met Your Mother.  You two need your rest.”

Tim smiled, “Bruce, you know I don’t sleep well unless I’m in my own bed.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.  You still have to try, though.”  Bruce turned to Damian and asked, “What’s your story?”

Damian shrugged, then winced, “I’m hungry.”

Leslie spoke up, “Bruce, you can’t override that one.  Food is this doctor’s order for the both of them.”

The meal definitely wasn’t of Alfred quality, but it had been so long since Tim or Damian had eaten anything that they did not care.  Following the meal, Leslie cleared Tim and Damian to roam the ship, within reason.

Damian quickly approached Bruce, “Father, is there a secured phone onboard?”

“Of course.  Why,” Bruce asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

“May I make two calls, please?”

That surprised Bruce, “Two calls?”

“Yes, Father.”

Bruce led Damian to the Communications Center and showed Damian the set-up.  “Here is everything you need.  I’ll give you some privacy.”

Bruce turned to leave, but Damian grabbed his hand, “You can stay, Father.”

“Damian, I’m curious, but I’m not that invasive.”

Damian looked up with eyes that Bruce could have sworn he stole from a cartoon, “I want you to stay, Dad.  Please?”

Bruce shrugged, “Okay, I’ll stay.”

Damian waited until Bruce sat down, then sat in his lap before dialing the first number.

Damian dialed the number expectantly, and Bruce was wondering why Damian wanted him around for this.  The voice Damian was expecting to hear answered the phone and said two words that Bruce wasn’t expecting to hear.

“Wayne residence.”

Damian gave a sigh as a soft smile crossed Bruce’s face.  He wrapped his arms gently around Damian’s stomach as Damian said, “Hello, Alfred.”

“Master Damian,” Alfred gasped, “Does this mean you have been recovered?”

“And Tim,” Damian said.

“Are you okay?”

Damian leaned back into Bruce, “Dr. Thompkins was able to put me back together again.”

Alfred could tell that the answer was carefully worded by the boy.  “That doesn’t answer my question, young sir.”

Damian closed his eyes, knowing that Alfred would catch on to that immediately, “I know, Alfred.  The true answer is, I’m not sure.  My body will heal, my mind will take a little longer.  I want to be okay, but nothing is ever easy with Talia.”

Alfred understood the haunted tone in Damian’s voice, “No, nothing is ever easy, when family is involved.  Are you on your way home?”

Damian was grateful that Alfred didn’t push for more details.  As much as he thought he was, Damian found that he wasn’t as ready to talk as he thought.  “We’re coming home.  Father, when will we be home?”

Alfred spoke up quickly, a hint of reproach in his voice, “Master Bruce, are you eavesdropping on your son again?”

Damian smirked up at Bruce, who shook his head with a sigh, “Hello, Alfred.  I only showed him where the phone was.  He’s the one who wanted me to stay.  To be honest, I thought he was going to call Robin.”

Father and son couldn’t see Alfred’s look, but it was one of surprise and contentment, “You called here before you checked in with Miss Robin?”

Damian smiled, “No, I called _you_.  We worry you too much.  However, everything that just happened would make a great couple chapters in your next book.”

Alfred couldn’t quite tell if Damian was joking or not, “Would it?  Perhaps, when you get home, you would consent to tell me about it.  When will that be?”

Damian looked up, and Bruce said, “We should be home either late tomorrow night or early morning, the next day.”

“Would you like me to pick you up from the harbor, sir?”

Bruce shook his head, “No, Alfred.  The mooring for the ship is in New York Harbor, at the Navy Pier.  We’ll Zeta back to the Cave.”

“Very well, sirs.  Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?”

Bruce looked down at Damian, who was smiling at the speaker.  “No, Alfred,” the boy said, “I really just wanted to hear your voice.”

_Good Lord.  What did she do to him, for Master Damian to make that admission?_   Alfred was trying to stop himself from tearing up as he said, “Well, you take care of yourself, and I will see you soon.”

“Bye, Alfred,” Damian said gently as he disconnected the call.

Bruce leaned forward, engulfing Damian as he kissed the top of his son’s head.  “That was very thoughtful of you, Damian.  Did you want me to leave now, so you can talk to Robin in private?”

Damian reached up and held on to the arms that were holding on to him, “No, Father.  I have something I would like to propose, and you will need to be here for that.”

Damian was reaching out to dial Robin’s number when Bruce said questioningly, “Propose?”

“Yeah, I…”  Damian’s eyes widened as he realized what he had said, “No!  Not propose.  No, that was a poor choice of words.”

“Very,” Bruce said darkly.

Damian continued his flustered defense of a slip of the tongue, “What I meant to say was that I…no, that wouldn’t be good either.  We…no, not that.  There’s something I want to ask…no.  What I want to talk about is something that I want your input and opinion…wow, there really is no way to put this where my meaning won’t be misconstrued.”

“Damian…”

Damian interrupted his father, “I don’t want to ask Robin to marry me.  Not for a few years, at least.”

Bruce was trying not to laugh now, “Damian, just call her, and try to get the knot out of your tongue before she answers.”

Damian sighed, “Thanks, Dad.”

Robin answered her cell phone on the third ring, and Damian was trying to do the math in his head to figure out what time it actually was in Alaska.  Not knowing where he was in the world made that impossible.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Robin,” Damian sighed.

The line was silent for exactly eighteen seconds before the girl did her best to blow out the communication room speakers.  “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?  Do you know how worried I’ve been about you?  Do you know how scared I’ve been?  You told me that if you ever disappear like this, it means something bad is happening.  Last time it was a planetary invasion by a hostile alien.  I’ve been watching the news, expecting a nuclear war, or something.  My family thought I was crazy, telling them to stock up on food, in case the world ended.”

Robin stopped for a breath, then demanded, “Well?  Aren’t you going to say something?”

Even while being yelled at, which is the exact reaction Damian was expecting, he was loving every minute of hearing Robin’s voice again.  “I’m waiting for you to call me a jerk and tell me how much you hate me.”

Robin sighed, “Even disappearing for days at a time won’t make me hate you, you jerk.  I’ll only hate you if you don’t come back.  What happened?  Where were you?”

Damian sighed, “I saved my mother’s life.  She decided to make me pay for that.”

“Your mother,” Robin gasped.

“It’s a long story.”

Robin sounded suspicious, “Did she hurt you?”

Damian closed his eyes and repeated, “It’s a long story.”

The teen girl was definitely holding back tears, “She did, didn’t she?  When is she just going to leave you alone?”

“I think this is it,” Damian said.

Robin sighed again, “God, Damian, I wish there was a way to find these things out without tearing out my hair.”

Damian gave a small smile, “You can always call the house and talk to Alfred.  He usually knows what’s happening.  Please don’t tear out your hair, though.  I think bald is the only hairstyle that you can’t pull off.”

“Are you okay,” Robin asked.

Damian hesitated a second before giving his honest answer.  He promised Robin that he would never lie to her again, so he said, “No.  No, I’m not okay.  It’s going to be a long time before I’m okay again.”

Bruce hugged his boy tightly at that admission.  Robin sniffled as Damian said, “Robin, I want to see you.  Can you go get your dad and put us on speakerphone?  I’m here with Father on speakerphone, and I need to ask both of you something.”

Robin hesitated for a second, “That would have been nice to know earlier, Damian.  Hello, Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce smiled, “Hello, Robin.”

“My parents are right here.  They came to see what I was yelling about.  You’re on speaker.”

Mike Abbey’s voice sounded in the room, “Bruce, Damian, is that you?”

“Hi, Mike, Lisa.  Sorry for the yelling.”

Mike continued, “Robin’s been beside herself.  Is everything alright?”

Damian spoke up, “No, everything is not alright, but we can start getting closer to that now.  Mr. Abbey, Father, there is something important I want to ask the two of you.  I really want to see Robin this weekend.  Now, our anniversary is in two weeks, and you two have already set up for Robin to come out for our anniversary weekend.  I would like to ask to change that to this weekend.  I’m willing to give up being together on our anniversary, if she can come out this weekend, instead.  Is that possible?  Can we do that?”

Damian looked up at his Father as Mike and Bruce spoke at the same time, “No.”

Robin and Damian both repeated, at the same time, “No?”

Mike Abbey spoke up, obviously talking to Robin, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “Gina is coming home from college this weekend.  I know you two were looking forward to seeing each other.  Three minutes in passing at the airport is not what either of you should have.  You probably won’t have another chance to see her until this summer.”

Robin sighed, “He’s right, Damian.  I forgot she was coming home this weekend.”

Damian looked up at Bruce and asked, “Why did you say no, Father?”

Bruce spoke up, “Well, before we knew they had plans for the weekend, I was going to say that you are not going to give up your anniversary.  I was going to say that Robin could come out both weekends, but they have family plans.”

Damian was at the same time astonished and saddened.  He accepted Bruce’s explanation, but Robin and Bruce hadn’t given up as easily as Damian seemed to.

Robin asked, “Dad, Damian is pretty much family, right?”

“I guess so, honey.  Why?”

Bruce spoke again, “I think I know where you’re going with this, Robin.  Mike, Gina goes to Gotham State University, right?”

“I think I know where you’re going with this, too,” Mike said.  “Yes, Bruce, she does.  What did you have in mind?”

Bruce was looking at his son as he said, “Why don’t you cancel Gina’s ticket for this weekend.  If you don’t mind a little extra company, I can have Alfred fly Gina and Damian out for the weekend on one of my private planes.”

“Um, Father,” Damian asked.

Bruce smirked, “You have an objection to the plan that is basically giving you what you asked for, son?”

Damian smiled, “Just one.  I’m not saying that he’s old, but that is a long flight, and it’s been years since Alfred flew anything.  Do you think you could fly us instead, Father?”

Bruce returned the smile, “What do you say, Mike?  Think you can put me up in the guest room for the weekend?”

Robin spoke up, confused, “Wait, why just you?”

Mike followed Bruce’s line of thought, “I’m pretty sure Damian is going to want the same sleeping arrangements he had last time, won’t you, Damian?”

Damian gave a warm smile, remembering the week he spent sharing Robin’s bed in the Abbey house, “If that’s okay with you.  I don’t think you have to worry about us getting out of hand.  I’m not really in any condition to do more than sleep right now.”

Bruce ruffled Damian’s hair gently, “It’ll be fine, son.  Sound good, Mike?”

“Works for us.”

Bruce smiled, “Have Gina be at the Manor, five AM sharp, Friday morning.”

“Okay, Bruce,” Mike said, “We’ll see you sometime Friday.”

Robin still sounded like she was confused, “Wait, did this really just happen?”

Damian smiled, “Don’t ask questions, Robin.  Just go with it.  I’ll see you in a couple days.  We should be there by the time you get home from school on Friday.  See you in a couple days, Beautiful.”

“Until then, Lover.”

The line disconnected, and Damian turned and embraced Bruce as tightly as he could.  “Thank you, Father.  You didn’t have to do that.”

Bruce returned the hug, trying not to crush the boy, “I know.  I wanted to.  You’ve been much more patient about asking to see Robin this year than you were last year.  Anyway, I think she can help you in ways I can’t.  Maybe this will help you recover faster.”

Leslie stalked into the Communications Room and glared at Father and Son.  “There you two are.  Do you know it’s after midnight?  Damian needs to rest if he’s going to heal.  Come on, back to the medical bay with you.”

Bruce and Damian rose under the doctor’s watchful eye.  She followed the men down the hall as Bruce asked, “Hey, Doc, what are Damian’s limitations on strenuous activity once we get home?”

Leslie’s eyes widened, “Are you kidding me, Bruce?  Robin is grounded until his stitches come out.  If you even think of taking him out on patrol, I’ll kidnap Damian myself and hold on to him for safety’s sake.”

Bruce smiled, “I wasn’t thinking of taking him on patrol, but I did just promise him a trip to Alaska this weekend.”

Leslie looked at a loss for understanding, “What is so important, to go all the way to Alaska, while you still have stitches?”

“My girlfriend,” Damian said softly.

Leslie’s argument stalled in her throat, and she said, “Oh, _that_ kind of strenuous activity.  Wait, are you two…”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Is that such a big surprise?”

Looking back and forth between father and son, Leslie said, “Knowing Bruce as a father, yes.  Knowing that you are Bruce’s biological child, not really.  You will be careful.  You will watch out for your injuries.  You will report any new injuries, or worsening of current injuries, immediately.  You will remember all safety precautions.  And, you will have fun.”

“Yes, I will.  Thank you, Doctor,” Damian said as he entered the medical bay and closed the door behind him.

“Hey, there you are.”

Damian gasped in shock and turned as the unexpected voice sounded behind him.  Leaning against the door, Damian was breathing heavily as he said, “Tim, you’re still awake.”

“Yeah.  I wanted to talk to you.”

Damian looked at Tim nervously, “You…you do?”

Tim didn’t quite understand the shake in Damian’s jaw, “Come here, Damian.”

Damian sighed and trudged over, his face pointed at the floor.  Damian had been dreading this moment.  It was the first time he had spoken to his brother since the rescue, and Damian expected Tim to be holding a grudge the size of the Grand Canyon.

As Damian walked up, Tim said, “Dick and Jason told me what happened.  I don’t know if I could have done what you did.”

Damian stopped in front of Tim.  Tim raised a hand, and Damian flinched hard.  Tim sighed as he rested his hand against Damian’s cheek gently.  Damian slowly lifted his head to see Tim watching him compassionately.

Damian hesitated for just a second before he blurted out, “I’m so sorry, Tim.  I didn’t want this.  I didn’t want any of this.  I tried.  I tried so hard.  I begged her to let you go, to not hurt you.  I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Tim yanked Damian into a tight hug and held the teen for a minute.  “Damian, it’s okay.  I don’t blame you.  You didn’t hurt me.”

“You _should_ blame me,” Damian sobbed, “I _did_ hurt you.  I tried to stay still.  I was too weak to stop hurting you.”

Tim shook his head, “You didn’t hurt me.  Talia did that.  She made you believe it was your fault, but it isn’t.  It was her.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No,” Tim interrupted sternly, “Damian, she sliced you open in half a dozen places.  No one would expect you to just lay there and take that.  You had to save yourself, and if that resulted in a couple little shocks, then that’s okay.”

Damian took a shaky breath, “I felt those shocks, and they weren’t that little.”

Tim moved his brother back, so he could look Damian in the eye, “You’re looking at this the wrong way.  We’re here.  We survived.  We’ll heal.”

Damian was silent for a minute before eyeing his brother, “How are you doing?”

Tim nodded, “I’m okay.  I’m just sore and tired.  On the upside, I no longer have to plug my phone in to charge it.”

The joke fell flat, and Damian said, “I don’t find that particularly funny, Tim.  You absorbing that much electricity is directly my fault.”

“We went over this, Damian.  It’s not your fault.”  Tim pulled Damian over to sit on the bed, next to him, “How did you decide to sentence your mother to death?”

Damian leaned against Tim’s side with a sigh, “Grandfather won’t kill Mother.”

Tim was surprised at that, “Are you sure?”

Damian nodded, “She will be punished severely for lying to Grandfather, but she will survive her punishment.”

Tim threw an arm around Damian carefully, “Are you okay with that?”

“What choice do I have now?  It’s already done.  Grandfather…he knows what he’s doing.  He doesn’t want to be lonely.  Ra’s and Talia…as sad as it is, they are all they have, now.  They were meant for each other.  Grandfather will keep his word, though.  He will do his best to keep Mother away from us.”

Damian and Tim both yawned, and Tim noticed Damian’s eyes slipping closed.  Tim said softly, “None of this was your fault, Little Brother.  Remember that.  No one blames you for loving your mother.  Don’t let this eat you up.  We love you.”

Yawning again, Tim laid down, pulled the teen in close, and closed his eyes. 

Already asleep, Damian murmured out, “Love you, too.”

_The Next Day, Still At Sea…_

Damian was grumbling when he woke up in the morning.  His first stop of the day was a much-needed shower.  However, he was met by the stone wall of Dr. Thompkins, who reminded him that he had numerous stitches, and as such wasn’t allowed under water.  When Damian protested, Dr. Thompkins wasted no time in dragging Damian by the ear back to the medical bay and forcing one of the most violent sponge baths in history on the teen.

That humiliating experience over, Damian and Tim had breakfast with Dick, who stated in no uncertain terms that he planned on cuddling the life out of his brothers until they reached dock.

Damian didn’t have time to contemplate the plan of the day before Bruce called Damian out into the hall.  “How are you feeling, son?”

Damian shrugged, “How am I supposed to feel?  I disrupted all of our lives, because I couldn’t let one terrorist kill another.”

Bruce sighed, “There’s more to it than that, Damian.  You can’t be this hard on yourself.  Not over this.”

Damian hung his head, “It’s the only way I know, Father.  If I deserved forgiveness, I would forgive myself.”

Bruce gently hugged his son, “I want to be able to help you with that.  We all do.  A while back, you asked about getting some help.  I think we’ve finally figured out how to do that.”

Damian looked up and raised an eyebrow, which was a much better reaction than Bruce was expecting.  He had expected Damian to throw a fit and yell that he was fine and didn’t need any help.

_I guess he really does want some help._   Bruce eyed his son gently, “Do you know Dinah Lance?”

Damian thought for a second, “Black Canary?  What about her?”

“She’s here, Damian.”

Damian cocked his head, “I didn’t see her last night.”

Bruce gave a wry smile, “She stayed on the ship.  Apparently, she doesn’t do too well with boats.”

“Then, why did she come?”

“Because two members of the Justice League were in trouble,” Bruce said seriously.

Damian nodded and asked, “Okay.  Why bring her up?”

Bruce took a deep breath, “Among other things, Dinah is an accredited counselor.  Like I said, we all want to help you.  Dinah has offered her services, if you’re willing.”

Damian thought for a minute, before saying softly, “Counseling?”

“We talked about this before, Damian.”

Damian nodded, “A couple times, yes, but I never thought…”

Bruce waited for Damian to continue.  When he didn’t, Bruce said, “You don’t have to commit to anything, but why don’t you just talk to her for a bit?  If nothing else, you can say you gave it a try.”

_Later…_

It took Damian the better part of an hour to convince himself to meet with Dinah.  He had nearly begged for counseling in the past, but now that it was here for him, he didn’t know what to think.

Hesitantly, Damian knocked on the ward room door.  A female voice answered, “Come in.”

Not knowing what to expect, Damian stuck his head in the door.  A blonde woman, seated on a couch, smiled at the teen.  “Come in, Damian.”

Damian closed the door behind him and walked halfway across the room, “You’re the shrink?”

Dinah held her laugh, but Damian could see it in her eyes, “No.  I’m just someone you can talk to, if you want.”

“Why should I talk to you?”

Dinah expected this reaction from Bruce’s son.  It wasn’t uncommon.  “It’s not a question of should or shouldn’t.  You need to do what’s best for you.  Some people feel better about getting things off their chest.”

Damian’s hand rose to his stitched-up scar, and he winced as his fingers rested lightly over the area.  “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

Dinah shook her head, Damian’s defensive tone reminding her of the description of the teen’s wounds, “No, Damian.  It’s just an expression.  I’m sorry if you thought I was making fun of you.  You can sit down, if you want.”

Damian approached closer, but didn’t sit down, “Why?”

Dinah took a guess at what Damian was really asking, “Bruce said you had asked about talking to someone in the past.  You must have had a reason for that.”

Damian looked at the woman skeptically, “I don’t just open up to people.  It’s not how I was raised.”

“From what I’ve heard, that’s the whole reason we’re here.”

Damian tilted his head, “What is?”

“How you were raised,” Dinah replied.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Damian grumbled.

Dinah looked past the teen, “You’re free to leave at any time.  There’s no lock on that door.”

“Maybe I should,” Damian said.

Dinah nodded, “Maybe you should.  But if you do, find someone you trust, and talk to them.  You’re hurting, Damian.  It’s written all over your face.”

Damian turned and headed for the door, but stopped after a handful of steps.  He stood there for a full minute before his chin fell to his chest, and he sighed, “How does this work?”

“We talk,” Dinah said, “What we talk about it completely up to you.”

“Who do _you_ talk to?”

“About this?  No one, if you don’t want me to.  Not even Bruce.”

Damian turned his head, “How long does this take?”

Dinah gave a soft smile, “As long as you need it to take.  If we don’t have enough time to finish before the ship docks, we can set up appointments to talk in the future.  We only move at your speed.”

Damian turned around to face Dinah again.  She smiled at the teen and asked softly, “Would you like to sit down?”

Slowly, Damian approached again and sat on the other side of the couch.  They stared at each other for another minute before Damian asked, “Now what?”

Dinah shrugged, “You tell me.  We’re here for you.”

“This isn’t as easy as you make it sound,” Damian sighed as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

Dinah shook her head, “I never said this was going to be easy.  In fact, I can guarantee this will be extremely difficult.  Looking in the mirror can be the hardest thing anyone has to do, especially if you don’t like who looks back at you.”

Damian rested his forehead in his hands, “Are you sure you want to do this?  Are you sure you have the time for this?  I’m pretty screwed up.”

“None of us would be doing this if we weren’t all screwed up in some way.”

Damian’s voice sounded a little weaker to Dinah when he said, “Where do I start?”

Dinah gave an unseen nod and said, “Why don’t you start with what’s in your mind right now?  What is bothering you the most right now?”

Damian looked up at Dinah, and the woman was shocked by the tears coursing down the teen’s face.  Damian sobbed, “None of this was supposed to happen.  I didn’t want any of this.  I need help.  Will you help me?  Please?”

 

**A/N:  Well, an ending, and possibly, a beginning.  As counseling is a long process, this will not be the last we hear of Damian seeking help in normalizing his behaviors and situation.  I just thought it would show character growth if Damian was trying to become better adjusted.  This will also play into the development of the kids team.  I think it is a revelation to have Damian asking for help.  Let me know if you think the same.**

**I included Black Canary as the counselor based on the Young Justice episode where she counsels the team.  Whether she is an actual counselor, I don’t know, but it works for the story.**

**Next up is Our Father’s Sons, which should be up either tonight or tomorrow.  I am also writing a second chapter for Baby Steps, as something a little lighter than what I’ve been writing lately.**

**Thanks for your continued interest, and I would love to know what you think in the comments.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


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